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Ottawa County, Michigan
Seal of Ottawa County, Michigan
Seal
Map of Michigan highlighting Ottawa County
Location in the state of Michigan
Map of the U.S
Michigan's location in the U.S.
Founded 1837
Seat Grand Haven
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

1,631.97 sq mi (4,227 km²)
565.65 sq mi (1,465 km²)
1,066.32 sq mi (2,762 km²), 65.34%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

296,200
466/sq mi (180/km²)
Website www.miottawa.org

Ottawa County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 296,200.[1] The county seat is Grand Haven[2].

Geography[]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,631.97 square miles (4,226.8 km2), of which 565.65 square miles (1,465.0 km2) (or 34.66%) is land and 1,066.32 square miles (2,761.8 km2) (or 65.34%) is water.[3]

Geographic Features[]

  • Grand River (Michigan)
  • Lake Michigan

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 238,314 people, 81,662 households, and 61,328 families residing in the county. The population density was 421 people per square mile (163/km²). There were 86,856 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile (59/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.52% White, 1.05% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.48% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 7.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.3% were of Dutch, 14.6% German, 6.2% English, 5.6% Irish and 5.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.5% spoke English and 5.4% Spanish as their first language.

There were 81,662 households out of which 39.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.25.

Summer seasonal residents are also a member of the populous Ottawa County. Port Sheldon Township has many lakefront homes and other inland retreats that serve as summer getaways for residents of Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Chicago. No official statistics are compiled on seasonal residents.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 11.90% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 20.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,347, and the median income for a family was $59,896. Males had a median income of $42,180 versus $27,706 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,676. About 3.10% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.70% of those under age 18 and 4.90% 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.

Ottawa County elected officials[]

  • Prosecuting Attorney: Ronald J. Frantz
  • Sheriff: Gary A. Rosema
  • County Clerk: Daniel C. Krueger
  • County Treasurer: Bradley Slagh
  • Register of Deeds: Gary Scholten
  • Drain Commissioner: Paul Geerlings

(information as of September 2005)

Politics[]

United States presidential election results for Ottawa County, Michigan[5]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 100,913 59.81% 64,705 38.35% 3,095 1.83%
2016 88,467 61.50% 44,973 31.26% 10,408 7.24%
2012 88,166 66.41% 42,737 32.19% 1,854 1.40%
2008 83,330 61.03% 50,828 37.23% 2,381 1.74%
2004 92,048 71.55% 35,552 27.64% 1,043 0.81%
2000 78,703 71.16% 29,600 26.76% 2,296 2.08%
1996 61,436 64.39% 27,024 28.32% 6,956 7.29%
1992 56,862 59.10% 22,180 23.05% 17,169 17.85%
1988 61,515 76.20% 18,769 23.25% 445 0.55%
1984 60,142 79.69% 15,000 19.88% 326 0.43%
1980 51,217 67.85% 18,435 24.42% 5,832 7.73%
1976 49,196 74.12% 16,381 24.68% 793 1.19%
1972 42,169 71.99% 15,119 25.81% 1,288 2.20%
1968 33,356 67.60% 12,431 25.19% 3,555 7.20%
1964 24,512 54.79% 20,151 45.05% 72 0.16%
1960 32,678 75.26% 10,617 24.45% 128 0.29%
1956 28,611 74.90% 9,459 24.76% 130 0.34%
1952 22,328 72.83% 7,835 25.56% 494 1.61%
1948 16,028 63.38% 8,789 34.76% 471 1.86%
1944 17,077 66.23% 8,511 33.01% 198 0.77%
1940 15,462 62.39% 9,152 36.93% 170 0.69%
1936 11,114 51.35% 9,579 44.26% 952 4.40%
1932 12,076 58.34% 7,981 38.56% 643 3.11%
1928 15,417 85.48% 2,524 14.00% 94 0.52%
1924 11,688 78.55% 1,871 12.57% 1,321 8.88%
1920 10,528 78.74% 2,391 17.88% 451 3.37%
1916 5,484 56.19% 3,941 40.38% 335 3.43%
1912 1,825 20.87% 2,036 23.28% 4,885 55.85%
1908 5,642 66.25% 2,429 28.52% 445 5.23%
1904 5,908 75.33% 1,553 19.80% 382 4.87%
1900 5,324 62.21% 3,050 35.64% 184 2.15%
1896 5,188 58.05% 3,550 39.72% 199 2.23%
1892 3,643 50.82% 2,996 41.79% 530 7.39%
1888 4,302 55.03% 3,191 40.82% 325 4.16%
1884 3,758 53.36% 3,049 43.29% 236 3.35%



Ottawa County has long been one of the most consistently Republican counties in Michigan and the country. The last Democratic Party candidate to carry the county was George B. McClellan in 1864.[6] As a measure of how Republican the county has been since then, it has rejected Democratic presidential candidates even in national Democratic landslides. It was one of the few counties where Franklin Roosevelt was shut out in all four of his presidential bids, and was one of only three counties in the state to vote for Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However, Johnson won 45% of the county's vote, the last time that a Democrat has won even 40% of the county's vote. In 1912, incumbent Republican president William Howard Taft lost the county to "Bull Moose Party" candidate and former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. During the 1986 gubernatorial election, it was the only county not to back James Blanchard for a second term. In 2020, Joe Biden had the best performance of any Democratic presidential candidate in Ottawa County since 1964.

Cities, villages,townships and unincorporated communities[]

Cities

  • Coopersville
  • Ferrysburg
  • Grand Haven
  • Holland
  • Hudsonville
  • Zeeland

Villages

  • Spring Lake

Unincorporated

  • Allendale
  • Beechwood
  • Borculo
  • Conklin
  • Drenthe
  • Eastmanville
  • Jenison
  • Marne


Townships

  • Grand Haven Charter Township
  • Holland Charter Township
  • Jamestown Charter Township
  • Olive Township
  • Park Township
  • Polkton Charter Township
  • Port Sheldon Township
  • Robinson Township
  • Spring Lake Township
  • Tallmadge Charter Township
  • Wright Township
  • Zeeland Charter Township


Transportation[]

Interstates[]

  • I-96 I-96
  • I-196 I-196
  • Business Loop 196 I-196 Business Loop serves the city of Holland.

US highways[]

  • US 31 US-31

Michigan State Trunklines[]

  • M-6 M-6
  • M-11 M-11
  • M-45 M-45
  • M-104 M-104
  • M-121 M-121

Ottawa County Intercounty Highways[]

  • Michigan A-37 Ottawa County A-37
  • Michigan B-31 Ottawa County B-31
  • Michigan B-35 Ottawa County B-35
  • Michigan B-72 Ottawa County B-72

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Ottawa County, Michigan

References[]

External links[]


Coordinates: 42°55′N 86°14′W / 42.92, -86.23


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Ottawa County, Michigan. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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