Italian Population in Michigan by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Italian population in Michigan totals 437,343. Every county in the state reports a non-zero population, with Macomb County leading at 90,432, followed by Oakland County (76,108) and Wayne County (64,571). This demographic analysis ranks all counties in Michigan by their Italian population, offering insights into regional distribution patterns and highlighting county-level concentrations across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Italian population in Michigan

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  • 1
    Macomb County
    Italian population in Macomb County is 90,432
    10.30% of Macomb County population is Italian
  • 2
    Oakland County
    Italian population in Oakland County is 76,108
    5.98% of Oakland County population is Italian
  • 3
    Wayne County
    Italian population in Wayne County is 64,571
    3.64% of Wayne County population is Italian
  • 4
    Kent County
    Italian population in Kent County is 20,350
    3.09% of Kent County population is Italian
  • 5
    Washtenaw County
    Italian population in Washtenaw County is 16,723
    4.54% of Washtenaw County population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Michigan

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Michigan with 437,343 Italian residents (4.4% of 10.1 million total state population), ranking the state at the 81st percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Italian demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census surveys show Michigan's Italian demographic representation of 4.4% remains below the national average of 4.9%, positioning the state below typical U.S. demographic distribution patterns.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Michigan hosts 437,343 Italian residents, representing 2.7% of the nation's total Italian population of 16.2 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data show Michigan maintains 7.7 Italian Americans per square mile compared to the national average of 4.6, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to national averages.
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83 Counties in Michigan Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Italian populations across every county in Michigan, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Macomb County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in Michigan ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
County
Italian Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Michigan Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Macomb County 90,432 10.30% 20.68%
2 Oakland County 76,108 5.98% 17.40%
3 Wayne County 64,571 3.64% 14.76%
4 Kent County 20,350 3.09% 4.65%
5 Washtenaw County 16,723 4.54% 3.82%
6 Genesee County 11,274 2.79% 2.58%
7 Livingston County 10,846 5.56% 2.48%
8 10,500 3.72% 2.40%
9 9,569 5.98% 2.19%
10 8,375 2.80% 1.92%
11 8,042 5.19% 1.84%
12 8,001 3.06% 1.83%
13 6,219 4.05% 1.42%
14 4,907 2.59% 1.12%
15 4,623 6.96% 1.06%
16 4,448 2.78% 1.02%
17 4,232 2.41% 0.97%
18 3,741 4.22% 0.86%
19 3,350 3.50% 0.77%
20 3,221 3.26% 0.74%
21 3,110 3.92% 0.71%
22 2,918 2.68% 0.67%
23 2,893 11.15% 0.66%
24 2,878 2.38% 0.66%
25 2,723 3.60% 0.62%
26 2,684 2.01% 0.61%
27 2,582 3.09% 0.59%
28 2,304 3.57% 0.53%
29 2,244 3.36% 0.51%
30 2,127 2.06% 0.49%
31 2,083 5.57% 0.48%
32 1,988 13.86% 0.45%
33 1,658 14.23% 0.38%
34 1,615 4.43% 0.37%
35 1,608 3.12% 0.37%
36 1,521 2.50% 0.35%
37 1,519 2.23% 0.35%
38 1,365 4.00% 0.31%
39 1,309 2.08% 0.30%
40 1,269 2.39% 0.29%
41 1,226 3.02% 0.28%
42 1,045 2.33% 0.24%
43 1,017 2.76% 0.23%
44 998 2.19% 0.23%
45 997 3.81% 0.23%
46 970 1.44% 0.22%
47 952 3.76% 0.22%
48 938 2.77% 0.21%
49 903 2.89% 0.21%
50 896 2.88% 0.20%
51 882 3.90% 0.20%
52 859 3.33% 0.20%
53 822 2.04% 0.19%
54 803 3.17% 0.18%
55 798 3.38% 0.18%
56 749 1.49% 0.17%
57 744 3.12% 0.17%
58 692 1.67% 0.16%
59 686 2.94% 0.16%
60 591 2.83% 0.14%
61 567 3.12% 0.13%
62 565 1.94% 0.13%
63 556 3.07% 0.13%
64 552 2.16% 0.13%
65 540 1.87% 0.12%
66 452 1.79% 0.10%
67 445 1.66% 0.10%
68 444 3.35% 0.10%
69 386 3.74% 0.09%
70 346 2.28% 0.08%
71 340 1.47% 0.08%
72 313 3.55% 0.07%
73 311 2.07% 0.07%
74 296 2.25% 0.07%
75 271 2.49% 0.06%
76 252 3.11% 0.06%
77 237 2.53% 0.05%
78 223 3.80% 0.05%
79 220 2.64% 0.05%
80 186 2.25% 0.04%
81 125 1.01% 0.03%
82 111 1.75% 0.03%
83 107 5.08% 0.02%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks county in Michigan by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Italian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total Michigan Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Italian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • County that don’t have any reported Italian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.