36,253 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
1,559 square miles of land · 23 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
6 active community water systems list Chippewa County in the area they serve, reporting 21,381 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| SAULT STE MARIE surface water · local government · MI0005950 | 14,689 served |
| KINROSS TOWNSHIP groundwater · local government · MI0003630 | 5,300 served |
| SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP groundwater · local government · MI0000880 | 767 served |
| DETOUR surface water · local government · MI0001795 | 325 served |
| RUDYARD TOWNSHIP groundwater · local government · MI0005844 | 250 served |
| DRUMMOND ISLAND APARTMENTS groundwater · private · MI0001865 | 50 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 113 people were held in Chippewa County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2020), or 460 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2015 it was about 130.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
6 school districts have their office in Chippewa County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $29.2 million — $23.9 million to run schools, about $12,236 per student, plus $3.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.9 million local (mostly property tax), $18.9 million state, $4 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.2 million.
Spent $11.5 million — $9.7 million to run schools, about $16,046 per student, plus $529,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.4 million state, $3.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.4 million.
Spent $14 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $13,097 per student, plus $6.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $4.8 million state, $674,000 federal. Long-term debt: $8.4 million.
Spent $9.9 million — $8.3 million to run schools, about $17,993 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.4 million.
Spent $6.2 million — $5.7 million to run schools, about $61,097 per student, plus $96,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1 million state, $328,000 federal. Long-term debt: $10.1 million.
Spent $2 million — $1.6 million to run schools, about $25,540 per student, plus $244,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $545,000 state, $314,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.3 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Chippewa County about $7.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
112 bridges in Chippewa County: 26 in good condition, 73 fair, and 13 poor (11.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| M-129|PICKFORD RD over FLETCHER CREEK · built 1929 | 3,344 vehicles a day |
| M-28 over HENDRIE RIVER · built 1960 | 2,127 vehicles a day |
| OLD MACKINAC TRAIL over PINE RIVER · built 1931 | 216 vehicles a day |
| MACKINAC TRAIL over CHUB CREEK · built 1933 | 216 vehicles a day |
| RIVERSIDE DRIVE over LITTLE MUNUSCONG R · built 1977 | 111 vehicles a day |
| CURLEY LEWIS FH42 over ROXBURY CREEK · built 1974 | 83 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $71.7 million of work in Chippewa County in fiscal 2025, about $1,949 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Michigan are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Chippewa County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Chippewa County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.
Nearby counties: Mackinac County (39 mi) · Luce County (49 mi) · Emmet County (55 mi) · Cheboygan County (58 mi) · Charlevoix County (69 mi) · Schoolcraft County (83 mi).