Iron County is a county in the Upper Peninsula
of the U.S. state of Michigan
. As
of the
2000 census, the
population was 13,138.
The county seat is
Crystal
Falls
.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total
area of 1,211 square miles (3,137 km²), of which,
1,166 square miles (3,021 km²) of it is land and
45 square miles (116 km²) of it (3.69%) is water.
Highways
US Highways
Michigan State Trunklines
Federal Forest Highways
Federal Forest Highway 16
(FFH-16)
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 13,138
people, 5,748 households, and 3,615 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 8,772 housing
units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The
racial makeup of the county was 96.28%
White, 1.10%
Black or
African American, 1.02%
Native American, 0.20%
Asian, 0.24% from
other races, and 1.16% from two
or more races. 0.64% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 14.5% were
of
German, 13.3%
Italian, 12.9%
Finnish, 11.0%
Polish, 10.4%
Swedish, 6.7%
English and 5.5%
French ancestry according to
Census 2000. 96.0% spoke
English and 1.1%
Spanish as their first language.
There were 5,748 households out of which 23.70% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 50.40% were
married couples living together, 8.40% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 37.10% were non-families.
33.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.40% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the county the population was spread out with 20.60% under the
age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 22.80% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from
45 to 64, and 25.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,560, and
the median income for a family was $37,038. Males had a median
income of $28,791 versus $21,077 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$16,506. About 7.10% of families and 11.30% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
16.40% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or
over.
Government
The county government operates the
jail,
maintains rural roads, operates themajor local courts, keeps files
of deeds and mortgages, maintains
vital
records, administers
public health
regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of
welfare andother social services. The
county board of commissioners controls
thebudget but has only limited authority to make laws or
ordinances. In Michigan, most localgovernment functions — police
and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, streetmaintenance,
etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and
townships.
Iron County elected officials
(information as of January 2007)
Cities, villages, and townships
Cities
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Townships
Schools
References
Further reading
External links
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