Luce County, Michigan

County in MI, US

By Neilsberg Research

Last updated May 1, 2026

Key Indicators

A quick look at key numbers

Population

6,271

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Age

44.6

years ∙ half population younger than 44.6, half older

Diversity Index

40%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Nativity

1.4%

foreign-born population

98.6%Native

1.4% Foreign-born

Geographic Context

Location, size, and surroundings

About

Luce County is a county in Michigan, United States.

Location

County in MI, US

Co-ordinates

DEC46.510988° N, 85.517552° W

DMS46° 30′ 39.56″ N, 85° 31′ 03.19″ W

Population Density & area

6.98/sq mi (2.69/km²)

Total Area

1,912 sq mi (4,954 km²)

Land Area

899 sq mi (2,329 km²) · 47%

Water Area

1,013 sq mi (2,625 km²) · 53%

Demographics & Living

Who lives here, how households are formed, and community composition

Population Composition

Key characteristics of the population

Sex Distribution

60.4% male

Male 60.4%

Female 39.6%

males per 100 females

Luce County 152.7

Michigan 98.2

United States 98

Nativity

1.4%

foreign-born population

98.6%Native

1.4% Foreign-born

% Foreign-born

Luce County 1.4%

Michigan 7.2%

United States 14.1%

Age Distribution

How the population is spread across age groups

Median Age

44.6

years ∙ half population younger than 44.6, half older

Luce County

44.6

Michigan

40.2

United States

38.9

Dependency ratio

63.6

dependents per 100 working-age adults

Luce County 63.6

Michigan 66.3

United States 64.4

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of age group

Median age

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Age Group
Children (Under 18)	16.3%	21.2%	22%
Working age (18-64)	61.1%	60.2%	60.8%
Senior (65+)	22.6%	18.6%	17.2%
Dependency ratio
Total dependency ratio	63.6	66.3	64.4
Child dependency ratio	26.6	35.3	36.1
Old-age dependency ratio	37	31	28.3

Racial & Ethnic Composition

Racial and ethnic makeup and how it compares

Race & Ethnicity

White

76.4%

Black

8.2%

Asian

0.1%

Hispanic

Other

13.3%

Note: White, Black, and Asian refer to individuals belonging to a single race and not of Hispanic origin. Hispanics may be of any race.

Diversity Index

40%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Luce County 40%

Michigan 45.2%

United States 61.4%

Note: The Diversity Index (DI), based on the Blau Index, measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals differ in race and ethnicity. Values range from 0 (no diversity) to 1 (high diversity) and are shown as percentages.

RACIAL & ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Race & Ethnicity

Percentage of Luce County population

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Hispanic or Latino	2%	5.9%	19.3%
Mexican	1.6%	4%	11.3%
Puerto Rican	0.3%	0.5%	1.8%
Cuban	0%	0.2%	0.8%
Other Hispanic / Latino	0.1%	1.2%	5.5%
Not Hispanic or Latino	98%	94.1%	80.7%
One race	91.2%	89.6%	76.4%
White	76.4%	72.4%	57.4%
Black or African American	8.2%	13.1%	11.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native	6.4%	0.3%	0.5%
Asian	0.1%	3.4%	5.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0.2%
Some Other Race	0%	0.5%	0.6%
Two or more races (Multiracial)	6.8%	4.5%	4.3%

Household & Families Composition

Household size, type, and family structure

Household structure

61.4% family

Family 61.4%

Non family 38.6%

% family households

Luce County 61.4%

Michigan 62.4%

United States 64.2%

Average household size

2.13

persons per household

Luce County

2.13

Michigan

2.42

United States

2.53

Household & Family COMPOSITION

Households

Percentage of Luce County population

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Total households	2,455	4,076,369	129,227,496
Average houshold size	2.13	2.42	2.53
Family households	1,507	2,545,621	82,990,528
Average family size	2.65	3.05	3.14
Married couple family	1,112	1,878,767	60,637,388
Other families	395	666,854	22,353,140
Male householder	147	199,150	6,572,819
Female householder	248	467,704	15,780,321
Non-family households	948	1,530,748	46,236,968
One-person households	752	1,250,418	37,140,836
Male householder	392	583,425	16,871,444
Senior (65+) living alone	131	188,594	5,225,110
Female householder	360	666,993	20,269,392
Senior (65+) living alone	198	349,637	10,089,070
Other living arrangements	196	280,330	9,096,132

Housing Profile

Housing stock, ownership, rentals, and cost burdens

Total housing units

4,067

housing units

Luce County 4,067

Michigan 4,622,236

United States 143,775,355

Occupancy status

60.4% occupied

Occupied 60.4%

Vacant 39.6%

vacancy rate

Luce County 39.6%

Michigan 11.8%

United States 10.1%

Housing Characteristics

How the housing supply is structured and used

Types of Housing unit

86.3%

Single family houses

86.3%

Apartments in multi-unit structures

4.1%

Mobile homes

9.6%

Boat, RV, van, etc

Median Year Built

1974

Half of houses were built before 1974, and half after.

Historic ∙ 1939 or earlier

13.8%

Postwar & mid-century ∙ 1940 - 1969

24.8%

Late 20th century ∙ 1970 - 1999

45.1%

Modern ∙ 2000 or later

16.3%

Note: Median year built reflects occupied units only; distribution includes all units.

Housing Characteristics

Units, rooms & bedrooms

Physical characteristics of housing units

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Rooms per unit
Median rooms	5.3	5.9	5.5
1–3 rooms	18.1%	10.5%	15.1%
4–6 rooms	55.8%	51.9%	51.6%
7+ rooms	26.1%	37.6%	33.4%
Bedrooms
No bedroom / studio	3.2%	1.6%	2.9%
1 bedroom	14%	8.9%	10.9%
2 bedrooms	34.8%	24.6%	25%
3 bedrooms	37%	43.5%	38.7%
4+ bedrooms	11%	21.4%	22.4%
At a glance
Median year built	1974	1972	1981
Total housing units	4,067	4,622,236	143,775,355

Occupancy Profile

Who is inside and how they use it

Homeownership

82.6% owners

Renter-occupied 17.4%

Owner-occupied 82.6%

homeownership rate

Luce County 82.6%

Michigan 73.2%

United States 65.2%

Average household size

2.17

Owner-occupied

1.93

Renter-occupied

owner-occupied average size

Luce County 2.17

Michigan 2.54

United States 2.64

Housing Characteristics

Occupied unit characteristics

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Total occupied units	2,455	4,076,369	129,227,496
Year moved in
2020 or later	23.9%	21%	24.8%
2010 to 2019	35.4%	39.5%	39.6%
2000 to 2009	15.1%	16%	16.4%
1999 or earlier	25.7%	23.4%	19.1%
Occupants per room
1.00 or fewer	99%	98.4%	96.6%
1.01 to 1.50	0.8%	1.2%	2.2%
1.51 or more	0.2%	0.4%	1.2%
Vehicles availability
No vehicles	5.6%	7%	8.4%
1 vehicle	33.1%	34.8%	33.1%
2 vehicles	41.7%	38.3%	36.6%
3 or more vehicles	19.6%	19.8%	21.9%
House heating fuel used
Gas	73.5%	83.6%	51.4%
Electricity	11.4%	12.1%	41.3%
Solar	0%	0%	0.3%
Fuel oil, kerosene etc	2.1%	0.8%	3.9%
All other fuels	12.2%	3%	2%
No fuel used	0.8%	0.5%	1.2%
Selected characteristics
Lacking complete plumbing	0.2%	0.4%	0.4%
Lacking complete kitchen	1.6%	0.7%	0.8%
No telephone service available	1.4%	0.7%	0.9%

Housing Value

What owner-occupied units are worth

Median home value

$112,000

owner-occupied units

Median value(USD)

Luce County

$112,000

Michigan

$231,600

United States

$332,700

Housing Cost Burden

23.5%

of homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened

% Cost-Burdened Households

Owners with a mortgage

23.5%

Owners without a mortgage

12.2%

Renters

57.3%

Note: Households spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.

Financial characteristics

Property value and housing costs

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Property value
Median Value	$112,000	$231,600	$332,700
Under $100,000	44.8%	16.8%	11.4%
$100,000 - $200,000	30.2%	24.7%	15.8%
$200,000 - $300,000	11.1%	23.4%	17.8%
$300,000 - $500,000	9%	24.1%	26.9%
$500,000 - $1,000,000	3.7%	9.2%	20.9%
$1,000,000 and more	1.1%	1.6%	7.1%
Owner-occupied households
With a mortgage	39.7%	57.8%	60.6%
Without a mortgage	60.3%	42.2%	39.4%
Median monthly owner costs
With a mortgage	$1,060	$1,569	$1,963
Without a mortgage	$434	$602	$638
Gross rent
Median rent	$675	$1,129	$1,413

Education Profile

How educated is the community and how education pays off

Adults with a college degree

17.3%

of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher

Luce County 17.3%

Michigan 32.4%

United States 35.7%

Adults without a high school diploma

7.4%

of adults (25+) without a high school diploma

Luce County 7.4%

Michigan 8%

United States 10.4%

School Enrollment

Who is enrolled in school and at what level

School enrollment

1,047

population (age 3+) enrolled in school

Nursery / Preschool

7.2%

K–12

77.2%

College / Undergraduate

13.2%

Graduate / Professional

2.5%

College-going rate (18-24 yr olds)

13.1%

of 18-24-year-olds in college or graduate school

Luce County

13.1%

Michigan

41.1%

United States

40.9%

Enrollment & school type

Enrollment levels, college-going rate, and public vs private school split

Population 3+ currently enrolled in a school

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Total enrolled (age 3+)	1,047	2,312,914	80,089,790
Nursery / preschool	7.2%	5.6%	5.7%
K–12	77.2%	67.9%	67.6%
Kindergarten	6%	5.2%	5%
Elementary: Grades 1–4	15%	19.7%	19.8%
Elementary: Grades 5–8	23.5%	20.8%	21%
High School: Grades 9–12	32.7%	22.2%	21.7%
College or graduate school	15.7%	26.5%	26.7%
College, undergraduate	13.2%	21.1%	21%
Graduate, professional school	2.5%	5.4%	5.8%
College-going rate · 18-24 yr olds	13.1%	41.1%	40.9%
School type
Public school	85.4%	85.2%	82%
Private school	14.6%	14.8%	18%

Education Attainment by Level & Gender

What is the highest level of education completed among adults

Education attainment

4,716

population 25 years and over

Total adults (25+)

Less than 9th grade

2.2%

9th-12th, no diploma

5.2%

HS graduate

43%

Some college no degree

19.7%

Associates degree

12.5%

Bachelors degree

9.3%

Graduate or professional degree

8.1%

Attainment by gender

Male vs Female

Adults (25+) · Share within each education level

% male · % female

Less than 9th grade

51.9% · 48.1%

9th-12th, no diploma

68.9% · 31.1%

HS graduate

69.7% · 30.3%

Some college no degree

60% · 40%

Associates degree

50.1% · 49.9%

Bachelors degree

58.9% · 41.1%

Graduate or professional degree

43.9% · 56.1%

Educational Attainment Overview

Distribution and key education attainment rates for adults (25+)

Highest credential completed · adults 25+

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Population (25+)	4,716	7,008,507	230,807,303
Less than 9th grade	2.2%	2.6%	4.7%
9th–12th, no diploma	5.2%	5.4%	5.7%
High school diploma or GED	43%	28%	26%
Some college, no degree	19.7%	21.9%	19.1%
Associate's degree	12.5%	9.8%	8.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.3%	32.4%	35.7%
Bachelor's degree	9.3%	19.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional	8.1%	12.7%	14.1%
High School or higher	92.6%	92.1%	89.6%

Earnings by education level

percentage as applicable

Median Earnings

$37,953

Median earnings for adults 25+, by level

Less than HS graduate

$18,125

HS graduate

$31,250

Some college or associates

$32,841

Bachelors degree

$41,667

Graduate or professional degree

$62,476

Poverty Rate

5.6%

for ages 25+, with bachelors degree or higher

Less than HS graduate

31.2%

HS graduate

14.6%

Some college or associates

16.6%

Bachelors degree or higher

5.6%

Outcomes by Education Level

Earnings and poverty rates across education levels (25+)

Adults 25+

	Luce County	Michigan	United States
Median earnings
Population 25+, with earnings	$37,953	$50,316	$52,696
Less than high school graduate	$18,125	$31,851	$32,485
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	$31,250	$37,777	$40,153
Some college or associate's degree	$32,841	$44,844	$47,260
Bachelor's degree	$41,667	$66,893	$70,044
Graduate or professional degree	$62,476	$85,195	$90,720
Poverty rates
Less than high school graduate	31.2%	27.4%	24.2%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	14.6%	15.2%	14.4%
Some college or associate's degree	16.6%	10.3%	9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	5.6%	4.2%	4.5%

Insights for Luce County, by topic

Income By year By race By age By gender

Population By year By race By age By gender

About Neilsberg Research

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