22,871 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.5% since 2020)
347 square miles of land · 66 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.
15 active community water systems list Leelanau County in the area they serve, reporting 5,061 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HOMESTEAD/CRYSTAL RIVER WATER CO groundwater · private · MI0007103 | 1,365 served |
| SUTTONS BAY, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · MI0006500 | 874 served |
| NORTHPORT, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · MI0004810 | 526 served |
| ELMWOOD TWP - TIMBERLEE groundwater · local government · MI0006625 | 510 served |
| EMPIRE, VILLAGE OF groundwater · local government · MI0002130 | 400 served |
| CEDAR CREEK WATER COMPANY groundwater · private · MI0001252 | 325 served |
| ELMWOOD TOWNSHIP buys surface water · local government · MI0002115 | 255 served |
| NORTHPORT COTTAGE OWNERS surface water · private · MI0004820 | 240 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 19 people were held in Leelanau County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 154 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 26.
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.
4 school districts have their office in Leelanau County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $17.9 million — $16.8 million to run schools, about $23,667 per student, plus $585,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.3 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $4.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $54,000.
Spent $10.3 million — $9.1 million to run schools, about $15,718 per student, plus $976,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.7 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $1.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.8 million.
Spent $9.4 million — $8 million to run schools, about $17,716 per student, plus $591,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.6 million local (mostly property tax), $1.8 million state, $974,000 federal. Long-term debt: $22.3 million.
Spent $5.8 million — $5 million to run schools, about $38,558 per student, plus $859,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.4 million local (mostly property tax), $956,000 state, $390,000 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.
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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Leelanau County about $15.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
8 bridges in Leelanau County: 4 in good condition, 4 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 paid for $33.6 million of work in Leelanau County in fiscal 2025, about $1,506 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 Leelanau 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 Leelanau County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Michigan: the state government and every county in Michigan.
Nearby counties: Benzie County (36 mi) · Grand Traverse County (38 mi) · Charlevoix County (41 mi) · Antrim County (44 mi) · Door County, WI (49 mi) · Kalkaska County (57 mi).