38,041 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.1% since 2020)
1,009 square miles of land · 38 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.
17 active community water systems list Houghton County in the area they serve, reporting 30,273 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HOUGHTON groundwater · local government · MI0003230 | 8,386 served |
| UPPER MICHIGAN WATER COMPANY groundwater · private · MI0004800 | 5,535 served |
| HANCOCK buys groundwater · local government · MI0002980 | 4,500 served |
| ADAMS TOWNSHIP groundwater · local government · MI0000020 | 2,010 served |
| LAURIUM buys groundwater · local government · MI0003810 | 1,947 served |
| OSCEOLA TOWNSHIP groundwater · local government · MI0001840 | 1,391 served |
| PORTAGE TOWNSHIP buys groundwater · local government · MI0003330 | 1,214 served |
| LAKE LINDEN groundwater · local government · MI0003720 | 1,203 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 18 people were held in Houghton County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2020), or 73 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 33.
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.
9 school districts have their office in Houghton County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $18.9 million — $17.8 million to run schools, about $12,288 per student, plus $143,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $14.6 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $25.2 million.
Spent $22.9 million — $20.6 million to run schools, about $15,146 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6 million local (mostly property tax), $15.6 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.5 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $8.8 million to run schools, about $14,531 per student, plus $676,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.1 million local (mostly property tax), $6.2 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.8 million.
Spent $6.9 million — $6.3 million to run schools, about $13,536 per student, plus $175,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $746,000 federal. Long-term debt: $8.2 million.
Spent $6.3 million — $5.7 million to run schools, about $15,210 per student, plus $323,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.6 million.
Spent $4.4 million — $4.1 million to run schools, about $13,317 per student, plus $102,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $694,000 federal. Long-term debt: $4.9 million.
Spent $3.2 million — $3 million to run schools, about $15,437 per student, plus $85,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $595,000 local (mostly property tax), $2.2 million state, $344,000 federal.
Spent $2.2 million — $2.1 million to run schools, about $11,341 per student, plus $31,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $687,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.7 million state, $320,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.9 million.
And 1 more.
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 Houghton County about $10 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
59 bridges in Houghton County: 38 in good condition, 19 fair, and 2 poor (3.4%). “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.
| WOOD BUSH ROAD over TRAPROCK RIVER · built 1900 | 80 vehicles a day |
| HAZEL SWAMP ROAD over W BR OTTER RIVER · built 1997 | 10 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $158.2 million of work in Houghton County in fiscal 2025, about $4,235 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 Houghton 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 Houghton County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.
Nearby counties: Baraga County (25 mi) · Keweenaw County (29 mi) · Ontonagon County (31 mi) · Marquette County (56 mi) · Iron County (57 mi) · Gogebic County (64 mi).