Branch County, Michigan Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Branch County, Michigan, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Branch County, Michigan. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Branch County, Michigan. The estimated population of Branch County, Michigan is 44,677 people, with a median age of 41.2.

We can look at the total population in Branch County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
44,677
+2.88%
+2.60%
2020
43,428
 -0.2% -
2019
43,513
 -0.16% -
2018
43,584
+0.09%
-
2017
43,543
 - -

Population of Branch County, Michigan by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
89.3%
90.9%
 -1.76%
Black/African American
2%
2.3%
 -13.04%
Native
0.3%
0.3%
 0.00%
Hispanic
5.3%
4.5%
 +17.78%
Asian
0.6%
0.5%
 +20.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.5%
1.4%
 +78.57%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Branch County, Michigan by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 41.2 -0.24% 41.7 +0.24% 40.6 -0.73%
2020 41.3 +0.24% 41.6 +1.22% 40.9 -0.97%
2019 41.2 -0.24% 41.1 +0.24% 41.3 -1.67%
2018 41.3 +0.24% 41 +0.49% 42 0%
2017 41.2 - 40.8 - 42 -

The median age of Branch County, Michigan gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,750 +3.27% 2,668 +0.74% 2,832 2,685
10 to 19 2,985 -4.81% 2,790 +8.3% 2,838 3,016
20 to 29 2,534 -0.37% 2,275 +4.58% 2,524 2,377
30 to 39 2,786 -0.11% 2,441 +3.95% 2,772 2,538
40 to 49 2,970 +9.87% 2,303 -1.99% 3,264 2,253
50 to 59 3,521 -2.63% 3,141 -10.82% 3,428 2,814
60 to 69 2,684 +9.59% 2,552 +12.27% 2,947 2,878
70+ 2,287 +8.33% 2,856 +5.96% 2,482 3,029

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Branch County, Michigan is $56,077.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Branch County.

  • Under 25
    $38,750.00
  • 25 to 44
    $62,342.00
  • 45 to 64
    $64,515.00
  • 65 and over
    $41,620.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Branch County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Branch County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Branch County, Michigan is currently $70,987.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

2.99% of households in Branch County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Branch County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    17.61%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.78%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    22.68%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    14.51%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    12.58%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3.85%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.99%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Branch County is $27,575.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Branch County by the total population of Branch County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Branch County, Michigan, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Branch County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.13%
  • Bachelor's degree
    18.23%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    14.70%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    58.08%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.87%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Branch County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Branch County over the age of 16 is 35,472.

Of those people, a total of 57.40% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Branch County is 54.30%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 2,166 41.40% 11.50%
20 to 24 years 2,338 76.50% 9.10%
25 to 29 years 2,563 82.30% 7.80%
30 to 34 years 2,709 78.40% 7.00%
35 to 44 years 5,336 77.50% 2.40%
45 to 54 years 5,550 72.50% 3.20%
55 to 59 years 3,474 70.80% 7.00%
60 to 64 years 3,207 50.00% 2.50%
65 to 74 years 4,954 21.00% 7.60%
75 years and over 3,175 6.10% 0.50%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Branch County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 32,719 58.20% 5.50%
Black or African American 893 12.40% 14.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 179 27.90% 0.00%
Asian 191 85.90% 11.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 531 86.60% 0.00%
Two or more races 959 57.70% 4.70%
Hispanic or Latino 1,455 80.40% 0.80%
Not Hispanic or Latino 32,155 57.70% 5.60%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Branch County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Branch County is 19,273, with median earnings of $36,059.00.

Women in Branch County, Michigan earning approximately 73.40% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 19,273 $36,059.00
Male 10,705 $41,739.00
Female 8,568 $30,621.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,715 $55,039.00
Business and Financial 535 $53,355.00
Computer and Mathematical 214 $54,034.00
Architecture and Engineering 252 $80,000.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 79 $63,563.00
Community and Social Service 232 $37,500.00
Legal 50 $101,250.00
Educational and Library 645 $31,449.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 106 $41,923.00
Healthcare Practitioners 902 $44,688.00
Healthcare Support 602 $26,429.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 123 $58,125.00
Law Enforcement 179 $63,803.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,021 $15,461.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 558 $16,250.00
Personal Care and Service 326 $22,230.00
Sales 1,729 $31,146.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,994 $33,546.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 352 $35,833.00
Construction and Extraction 943 $42,527.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 887 $47,250.00
Production 3,275 $37,286.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,082 $41,058.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,109 $65,495.00 606 $40,500.00
Business and Financial 220 $92,333.00 315 $44,893.00
Computer and Mathematical 160 $53,239.00 54 $90,185.00
Architecture and Engineering 203 $84,150.00 49 $35,104.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 49 $59,688.00 30 $63,824.00
Community and Social Service 60 $52,500.00 172 $32,237.00
Legal 35 $140,982.00 15 $0.00
Educational and Library 131 $24,028.00 514 $31,648.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 52 $60,463.00 54 $9,063.00
Healthcare Practitioners 56 $75,625.00 846 $42,196.00
Healthcare Support 40 $29,500.00 562 $25,857.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 62 $45,833.00 61 $58,459.00
Law Enforcement 152 $63,777.00 27 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 367 $22,302.00 654 $13,276.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 290 $31,176.00 268 $9,343.00
Personal Care and Service 59 $24,018.00 267 $21,655.00
Sales 874 $37,089.00 855 $20,991.00
Office and Administrative Support 356 $35,179.00 1,638 $33,294.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 312 $41,176.00 40 $9,423.00
Construction and Extraction 905 $42,477.00 38 $52,857.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 836 $47,700.00 51 $29,698.00
Production 2,312 $39,672.00 963 $32,027.00
Transportation and Material Moving 907 $44,063.00 175 $40,259.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 16,625 households in Branch County, with an average household size of 2.56 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 10,832 families in Branch County with an average family size of 3.11 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 8,162 904 1,766 5,793
Average Household Size 3.17 3.41 3.34 1.32
Total Families 8,162 904 1,766 0
Average Household Size 3.14 2.9 3.06 0

Poverty

Of the 10,832 families in Branch County, 8.00% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Branch County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 20,720 housing units in Branch County, Michigan.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 16,625 80.24%
Vacant 4,095 19.76%

17.76% of the total 20,720 housing units in Branch County are rental units. This is approximately 3,679 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 12,560 are occupied by the owner - or 60.62% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Branch County is $804.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Branch County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    386
  • Less than $500
    423
  • $500 to $999
    2,475
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    719
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    48
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    14

Property Value

The median value of a property in Branch County is $121,400.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Branch County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    1,444
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    3,473
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,728
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,782
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,669
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,113
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    297
  • $1,000,000 or more
    54

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Branch County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Branch County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    4,827
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,410
  • 1950 to 1959
    1,961
  • 1960 to 1969
    2,345
  • 1970 to 1979
    3,030
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,837
  • 1990 to 1999
    2,706
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,934
  • 2010 to 2013
    661
  • 2014 or later
    9

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Branch County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,012
  • 1 vehicle available
    5,449
  • 2 vehicles available
    6,923
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    3,241

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Branch County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Branch County that commute to work in a particular way.

21.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Branch County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    1,051
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    3,039
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    2,822
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    2,933
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    2,558
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    1,165
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,490
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    533
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    582
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    904
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    693
  • 90 or more minutes
    315

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Branch County, Michigan in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Branch County, Michigan

We have data for 17 places in Branch County, Michigan. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.