Michigan · county 26041

Delta County, Michigan: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Delta County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Delta County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

36,687 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.5% since 2020)
1,171 square miles of land · 31 people per square mile

How Delta County compares — against the other counties in Michigan

“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.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Delta County

8 active community water systems list Delta County in the area they serve, reporting 18,643 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

ESCANABA
surface water · local government · MI0002170
12,941 served
GLADSTONE
surface water · local government · MI0002640
4,632 served
FORD RIVER TOWNSHIP
groundwater · local government · MI0002350
385 served
GARDEN
groundwater · local government · MI0002540
270 served
MAPLE RIDGE TOWNSHIP
groundwater · local government · MI0004063
250 served
NAHMA TOWNSHIP
groundwater · local government · MI0004600
95 served
CEDAR HILL ASSISTED LIVING
groundwater · private · MI0001253
45 served
RAPID RIVER HOUSING COMMISSION
groundwater · local government · MI0004173
25 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.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 111 people were held in Delta County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2022), or 518 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2017 it was about 89.

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.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

5 school districts have their office in Delta County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

ESCANABA AREA PUB SCH2,129 students

Spent $33.4 million — $29.3 million to run schools, about $13,739 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.8 million local (mostly property tax), $22.3 million state, $3.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $13.4 million.

GLADSTONE AREA PUB SCHS1,490 students

Spent $19.4 million — $18.6 million to run schools, about $12,481 per student, plus $254,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.6 million local (mostly property tax), $15.8 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.8 million.

RAPID RIVER SCHOOL DIST278 students

Spent $4.6 million — $4 million to run schools, about $14,558 per student, plus $137,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $2.3 million state, $786,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.4 million.

MID PENINSULA SCHOOL191 students

Spent $3.2 million — $3.1 million to run schools, about $16,372 per student, plus $25,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $973,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.7 million state, $552,000 federal.

BIG BAY DE NOC SCH DIST176 students

Spent $3.4 million — $3 million to run schools, about $17,153 per student, plus $298,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $639,000 state, $659,000 federal.

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.

Health, money and internet at home — Delta County beside Michigan

Life expectancy76.5 years · Michigan 76.2 years
Adults under 65 without health insurance6.3% · Michigan 5.5%
Children in poverty16.8% · Michigan 17.5%
Households without enough food (food insecurity)16.3% · Michigan 14.2%
Households with broadband internet85.3% · Michigan 89.3%
Households with severe housing problems10.1% · Michigan 13.4%
Drug overdose deaths per 100,00010.1 · Michigan 29.4
Residents per primary care doctor1,228 · Michigan 1,276
Residents per mental health provider575 · Michigan 281
Unemployment5.2% · Michigan 3.9%
Median household income$58,072 · Michigan $69,097

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.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Delta County about $14.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$7.7 million a year · Relatively Low
Cold wave$5 million a year · Relatively Moderate
Hail$885,462 a year · Relatively Moderate
Strong wind$340,494 a year · Relatively Low
Lightning$339,135 a year · Relatively Moderate

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

86 bridges in Delta County: 34 in good condition, 52 fair, and 0 poor (0.0%). “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.

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $13.6 million of work in Delta County in fiscal 2025, about $367 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.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026
Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062
closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking
Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699
closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661
closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide
Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064
closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program
Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC)
Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition
AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026
closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778
closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida
Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222
closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708
closes 2026-10-29

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.

Voting

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.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Delta 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 Delta County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.

Nearby counties: Menominee County (34 mi) · Schoolcraft County (37 mi) · Dickinson County (49 mi) · Door County, WI (50 mi) · Alger County (51 mi) · Leelanau County (61 mi).