Iron County

Iron County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,817.[3] The county seat is Crystal Falls.[4]

History
Iron County was organized in 1885 from territory taken from Marquette and Menominee counties. It was organized in that year. In 1890 the population of the county was 4,432.[5][1] It was named for the valuableiron ore found within its borders.[1][6]

Geography
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 1,211.21 square miles (3,137.0 km2), of which 1,166.15 square miles (3,020.3 km2) (or 96.28%) is land and 45.06 square miles (116.7 km2) (or 3.72%) is water.[7]

Highways
Entering Iron County on US 2 / US 141
 * US 2
 * US 141
 * M‑69
 * M‑73
 * M‑189
 * FFH 16

National protected area

 * Ottawa National Forest (part)

Demographics
The 2010 United States Census[10] indicates Iron County had a population of 11,817. This is a decrease of 1,321 people from the 2000 United States Census. This is a -10.1% change in population. In 2010 there were 5,577 households and 3,284 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 9,197 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). 97.1% of the population were White, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.2% of some other race and 1.4% of two or more races. 1.4% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 14.3% were of German, 11.5%Finnish, 11.3% Italian, 8.6% French, French Canadian or Cajun, 8.0% Swedish, 6.5%English, 5.8% American and 5.4% Irishancestry.[11]

There were 5,577 households out of which 18.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.65.

In the county the population was spread out with 17.1% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 17.2% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.9 years. 49.3% of the population was male, 50.7% was female.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,390, and the median income for a family was $46,337. The per capita income for the county was $20,099. About 6.5% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major 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 and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Cities

 * Caspian
 * Crystal Falls
 * Gaastra
 * Iron River

Villages

 * Alpha

Unincorporated communities

 * Amasa

Schools

 * West Iron County Schools
 * Forest Park School District