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Macomb County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2000 census recorded its population to be 788,149. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 830,663[1]. The county seat is Mt. Clemens[2]. Macomb County is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, though the city of Detroit is located south of 8 Mile Road which separates Macomb County from neighboring Wayne County. Macomb County contains 28 cities, townships and villages. These communities range from mature, inner-ring suburbs like the cities of Warren and Roseville to newer, wealthier locales such as Sterling Heights, Macomb Township, Shelby Township, and Washington Township. The county is named for Alexander Macomb, Jr., an early U.S. Army commander.
[edit] GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 570 square miles (1,476 km²)—480 square miles (1,244 km²) of it is land and 89 square miles (231 km²) of it (15.68%) is water. Lake St. Clair borders the county on the east. Far northern parts of the county, such as Richmond and Armada, are often considered to be part of Michigan's Thumb region. [edit] Adjacent counties
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile (633/km²). There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile (257/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.66% White, 2.71% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of German, 17.1% Polish, 13.6% Italian, 7.5% Irish and 5.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.6% spoke English, 1.7% Italian, 1.4% Polish, 1.2% Spanish, 1.1% Arabic and 1.1% Syriac as their first language. Two Native American tribes had over 1,000 residents in Macomb County in 2000. The Cherokee tribe counted 1,781 county residents, while 1,038 reported membership in the Chippewa tribe.[3] This is the tribe known as the Ojibwa. Among Asian ethnic groups, six numbered over 1,000 people in Macomb County. The most numerous were the 5,713 Asian Indians, followed by Filipinos (4,155), Chinese (2,489), Koreans (1,853) Vietnamese (1,557), and Hmong (1,103).[3] There were 309,203 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $62,816. Males had a median income of $48,303 versus $30,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over. The years 2000-2005 saw the African American population in Macomb County more than double. This growth largely resulted from an exodus of African Americans from Detroit. By 2005 Census estimates for Macomb County showed it was 5.6% African American, meaning that the growth of the African-American population in the county had been well over 100% in the last five years. The percentage of Asians had risen to 2.9%, largely fueled by the exodus of the Detroit Hmong population northward into Warren. The American Community Survey showed 1.5% of Macomb County's population reporting two or more races. According to the 2006 American Community Survey the average family size is 3.15. The population of 25 and over is 571,463. 86.9% of that population has graduated from high school, 21% of that population has a Bachelor's degree or higher. About 14.3 of that population is disabled. 12.5% of Macomb's population can speak another language at home. [edit] HistoryThe Ojibwa lived in the area centuries before European contact. The first European explorers arrived in the area during the 17th century. A Moravian colony was established in the county in the late 18th century. They included French fur trappers and missionaries. In addition to the original French and English, later settlers included Germans, Belgians and others who came directly from Europe. In the 19th century the county received many American migrants from New York and New England who were attracted to the area for land and booming jobs. Macomb County was formally organized on January 15, 1818 as the third county in the Michigan territory. At that time, it covered a much larger area than it does today. In 1819 and 1820, large portions of the county were removed to form the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and St. Clair. The county was named in honor of General Alexander Macomb, a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812. The county gained fame in the 1980s and '90s as a bellwether of state and national politics. Macomb's large cohort of working-class, socially conservative whites gave it one of the nation's most prominent concentrations of "Reagan Democrats". Outsider candidates with a conservative-populist bent have done well there in the past (e.g. George Wallace in 1968 and Pat Buchanan in 1992). [edit] Parks and recreationMacomb County is home to more than 130 parks covering 12,000 acres (49 km²) managed by the state, regional, county, and local government. There are four major public parks in the County - Freedom Hill County Park, Macomb Orchard Trail, Metro Beach Metropark, and Stony Creek Metropark. The county also has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas. [edit] GovernmentThe 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. In May 2008, Macomb County voters approved the inclusion of a County Executive in a new charter to be submitted to the voters by 2010. A charter commission was elected in November 2008 for the purpose of drafting a charter for submission to Governor Granholm, which was submitted and approved and placed on the November 2009 ballot. The Charter passed with a 60.4% to 39.6% margin.[4] [edit] Macomb County Elected Officials
[edit] Noted people from Macomb County
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[edit] Cities, villages, and townships
Townships
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