| ZIP Codes: | 8 ZIP Codes (8 Standard, 0 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Code: | 231 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (GMT -05:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:12:34 PM |
| Population: | 27,512 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 26127 |
| Land Area: | 565 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 27 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 43.6507, -86.2911 |
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27,512 residents live across 8 ZIPs covering 565 sq mi, served by 8 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 27,049 to 27,512 from 2014 to 2024 — a +1.7% change. 5 ZIPs gained residents, 3 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 49449 (Pentwater, $80,917 median) and poorest ZIP 49421 (Hesperia, $53,555) are 19.7 miles apart — a 1.5× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 2.8× across this county — from $108,300 in 49459 (Walkerville) to $307,300 in 49449 (Pentwater).
Density varies 4× across the county — from 19 people/sq mi in 49459 (Walkerville) to 68 in 49446 (New Era).
Educational attainment ranges from 11.7% bachelor's+ in 49421 (Hesperia) to 46.1% in 49449 (Pentwater) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within Michigan, this is the #51 most populous of 83 counties and ranks #53 for median household income .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $61,328 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
21.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (4,173 of 19,719 reporting).
8 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.
| ZIP | City | Type | Population | Median Income | Area (sq mi) | 10-yr Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49420 | Hart | Standard | 6,202 | $58,841 | 113.5 | -11.1% |
| 49421 | Hesperia | Standard | 5,734 | $53,555 | 130.5 | -1.4% |
| 49455 | Shelby | Standard | 5,429 | $63,621 | 87.4 | 19.6% |
| 49449 | Pentwater | Standard | 2,587 | $80,917 | 45.9 | 5.6% |
| 49452 | Rothbury | Standard | 2,208 | $55,441 | 43.6 | 16.8% |
| 49446 | New Era | Standard | 2,184 | $65,217 | 31.9 | -13.8% |
| 49436 | Mears | Standard | 1,644 | $67,279 | 31.8 | 6.7% |
| 49459 | Walkerville | Standard | 1,524 | $55,806 | 79.9 | 16.9% |