Marquette County, MI

County Profile

67,112 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Marquette County, MI.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 49% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,323rd of 1,463 counties measured30
SchoolsTop 31% of 1,377 counties measured65
Growth968th of 1,453 counties measured41
Housing affordability974th of 1,462 counties measured69
Climate1,419th of 1,463 counties measured50
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 1,463 counties measured95
AccessTop 46% of 1,463 counties measured82
Economic stabilityTop 49% of 1,463 counties measured61
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Marquette County in the bottom 10%.

In the public schools here, 41% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

105 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
67,112
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,429
Top 50% nationally
Density
37/sq mi
1,809.1 sq mi of land
Median age
39.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Marquette County
Michigan
Micro area
Nearest major airport
SAW
23 mi · Marquette/Sawyer Rgnl
Median home value
$216,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 21% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 6.5% over the past year, to 29,666 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$61,51557th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$52,91533rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,9542024 ACS 5-Year$65,429Top 50%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9442024 ACS 5-Year$35,200Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$48,786Bottom 19%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%Top 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.5 minTop 13%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year36.8%Top 12%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.2%48th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202629,666Bottom 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−9.1%Bottom 1%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−6.5%Bottom 1%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202631,24046th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.3%Bottom 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%61st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.0%Bottom 21%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%39th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.33.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% in July 2026. It has been falling for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202465k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,429 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

41% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 24 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
25
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across 24 of them
Math proficiency
41.2%
Top 36% in Michigan
Reading proficiency
55.4%
Top 19% in Michigan
The 12 largest of 25 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Marquette Senior High SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools94019.643%70%
Aspen Ridge Elementary SchoolNICE Community School District72112.943%55%
Bothwell Middle SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools69618.845%58%
Lakeview SchoolNegaunee Public Schools58415.052%52%
Gwinn MiddleHigh SchoolGwinn Area Community Schools47714.925%37%
Negaunee High SchoolNegaunee Public Schools47419.042%57%
Negaunee Middle SchoolNegaunee Public Schools46416.641%57%
Cherry Creek Elementary SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools43017.949%52%
Superior Hills Elementary SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools40516.252%62%
Westwood High SchoolNICE Community School District38317.437%72%
Sandy Knoll SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools32214.052%57%
Graveraet Elementary SchoolMarquette Area Public Schools28917.062%72%

34.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan is up 58% over five years, and up 5.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,109 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.97% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,137, some 20% above the $949 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,137 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,500 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $65,429.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $949 a month.

A median home at $216,500 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $84,741, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,137
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$949
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$216,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Marquette County’s median household income of $65,429, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+57.9%92nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Michigan’s figure2026 Q2+119.4%88th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 47%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year69.6%28th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±972024 ACS 5-Year33,60776th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$973Bottom 49%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,363Top 34%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,137Top 45%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$392024 ACS 5-Year$949Bottom 37%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,3592024 ACS 5-Year$216,50062nd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1042024 ACS 5-Year$2,10968th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,4622024 ACS 5-Year$84,741Top 33%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.97%63rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 16%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3082024 ACS 5-Year3,57191st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%82nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%19th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3532024 ACS 5-Year5,35282nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

41/ 100
Ranks 968 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 67,979 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 106 units authorized in 2025, up 16% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 67,979 residents in 2024, up 0.5% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 105 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Marquette County gained about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $61,515, above the $52,915 of households that moved out.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
105
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
+11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202468k66k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
50%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$61,515
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,915
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Delta County, MI 105 people · 4.8% of arrivals
  2. Houghton County, MI 94 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  3. Alger County, MI 81 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  4. Oakland County, MI 74 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Dickinson County, MI 53 people · 2.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Delta County, MI 102 people · 5.1% of departures
  2. Dickinson County, MI 78 people · 3.9% of departures
  3. Alger County, MI 75 people · 3.7% of departures
  4. Houghton County, MI 56 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Kent County, MI 56 people · 2.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202511185
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+25%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 76°F and January a low of 7°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.7 inches, including 196.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 19, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MARQUETTE, 8.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year482024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals36.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals196.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals7°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals76°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year192024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
19
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
48
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

95 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and hail, with cold wave alone responsible for 49% of it. Cold wave and inland flooding are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 98% of measured US counties.

HailHigh

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, lightning, wildfire, inland flooding, strong wind, ice storm, landslide, coastal flooding, heat wave, tornado, drought, earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, avalanche, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Marquette County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 17.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.9 per 100,000 residents in Marquette County.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
25.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Marquette County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Marquette/Sawyer Rgnl at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year84.8%Bottom 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miTop 31%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%Top 29%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Marquette/Sawyer RgnlSAW23 mi9,072 ft
Green Bay/Austin Straubel IntlGRB152 mi8,700 ft
Appleton IntlATW172 mi8,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Marquette County, MI

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.