| ZIP Codes: | 4 ZIP Codes (4 Standard, 0 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Codes: | 231 / 989 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (GMT -05:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:12:32 PM |
| Population: | 18,088 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 26079 |
| CBSA: | Traverse City, MI |
| Land Area: | 530 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 23 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 44.6897, -85.2100 |
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18,088 residents live across 4 ZIPs covering 530 sq mi, served by 4 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 17,088 to 18,088 from 2014 to 2024 — a +5.9% change. 3 ZIPs gained residents, 1 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 49680 (South Boardman, $77,216 median) and poorest ZIP 49646 (Kalkaska, $64,863) are 9.5 miles apart — a 1.2× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 1.6× across this county — from $168,000 in 49680 (South Boardman) to $269,300 in 49676 (Rapid City).
Density varies 4× across the county — from 17 people/sq mi in 49633 (Fife Lake) to 67 in 49676 (Rapid City).
Educational attainment ranges from 15.7% bachelor's+ in 49646 (Kalkaska) to 33.0% in 49676 (Rapid City) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within Michigan, this is the #64 most populous of 83 counties and ranks #27 for median household income with the #11 fastest decade growth .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $70,217 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
20.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (2,804 of 13,520 reporting).
4 Standard delivery, 0 PO Box only, 0 single-entity Unique ZIPs serve this county.
A frontier county — vast land area with only a few residents per square mile. Daily life looks very different here than in the country's denser counties.