is a county
in the U.S. state
. It is part of the Cadillac, Michigan Micropolitan Statistical Area
. As of the 2000 census
, the population was 14,478. The county seat
is Lake City
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 574 square miles (1,486 km²), of which, 567 square miles (1,468 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (18 km²) of it (1.23%) is water.
- The county is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 14,478 people, 5,450 households, and 4,043 families residing in the county. The population density
was 26 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 8,621 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.50% White
, 0.20% Black
or African American
, 0.50% Native American
, 0.24% Asian
, 0.37% from other races
, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.17% of the population were Hispanic
of any race. 24.6% were of Dutch
, 18.3% German
, 10.8% American
, 10.0% English
and 7.4% Irish
ancestry according to Census 2000
. 97.9% spoke English
and 1.1% Spanish
as their first language.
There were 5,450 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.80% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,224, and the median income for a family was $39,057. Males had a median income of $30,565 versus $20,905 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,072. About 8.20% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.