Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Kalamazoo, 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 Kalamazoo, Michigan. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The estimated population of Kalamazoo, Michigan is 22,664 people, with a median age of 35.4.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
22,664
0% +0.71%
2020
22,663
+0.24%
-
2019
22,608
+0.11%
-
2018
22,583
+0.35%
-
2017
22,504
- -

Population of Kalamazoo, 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
69.8%
67.6%
+3.25%
Black/African American
15.5%
19%
-18.42%
Native
0.1%
0.1%
0.00%
Hispanic
6%
7.2%
-16.67%
Asian
2.7%
2.3%
+17.39%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
0.00%
Two Or More Races
5.8%
3.4%
+70.59%
Other
0.1%
0.5%
-80.00%

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 Kalamazoo, 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 35.4 +0.57% 33.8 +2.42% 37.9 -1.3%
2020 35.2 +2.62% 33 +6.45% 38.4 -0.78%
2019 34.3 +0.59% 31 -2.21% 38.7 +4.59%
2018 34.1 0% 31.7 +1.28% 37 +1.37%
2017 34.1 - 31.3 - 36.5 -

The median age of Kalamazoo, 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 1,309 -13.68% 1,584 -38.08% 1,127 1,038
10 to 19 1,519 -3.65% 1,275 -0.58% 1,461 1,189
20 to 29 2,304 -8.3% 2,038 +21.48% 2,099 2,470
30 to 39 1,445 +30.02% 1,430 +4.02% 1,903 1,483
40 to 49 1,414 -8.05% 1,898 -11.42% 1,293 1,656
50 to 59 1,121 +13.88% 1,127 +25.69% 1,266 1,423
60 to 69 760 +25.73% 1,080 -5.55% 965 1,014
70+ 795 -0.73% 1,405 +7.9% 763 1,514

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Kalamazoo, Michigan is $53,103.00.

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 Kalamazoo.

  • Under 25
    $26,991.00
  • 25 to 44
    $56,884.00
  • 45 to 64
    $63,514.00
  • 65 and over
    $45,375.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Kalamazoo, 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 Kalamazoo, Michigan is currently $70,660.00.

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.

2.78% of households in Kalamazoo 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 Kalamazoo against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    19.80%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    28.23%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    20.33%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.24%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.76%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.87%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.78%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Kalamazoo is $32,068.00.

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

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

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Kalamazoo 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
    15.98%
  • Bachelor's degree
    40.81%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    11.73%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    29.32%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.15%

Employment

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

The total population of Kalamazoo over the age of 16 is 18,664.

Of those people, a total of 69.20% 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 Kalamazoo is 63.30%.

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 815 45.40% 31.40%
20 to 24 years 2,870 80.70% 16.90%
25 to 29 years 1,699 80.90% 10.90%
30 to 34 years 1,790 87.80% 3.00%
35 to 44 years 3,293 85.40% 5.10%
45 to 54 years 2,912 81.80% 5.80%
55 to 59 years 1,029 74.30% 12.00%
60 to 64 years 1,114 62.10% 0.70%
65 to 74 years 1,778 24.10% 2.30%
75 years and over 1,364 15.00% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Kalamazoo. 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 14,122 67.30% 8.00%
Black or African American 2,856 71.60% 11.10%
American Indian and Alaska Native 12 100.00% 33.30%
Asian 589 81.50% 9.60%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 317 65.30% 5.30%
Two or more races 768 86.70% 6.60%
Hispanic or Latino 888 70.30% 5.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 13,683 67.40% 8.00%

Occupations

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

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Kalamazoo is 11,807, with median earnings of $34,905.00.

Women in Kalamazoo, Michigan earning approximately 83.60% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 11,807 $34,905.00
Male 6,005 $38,938.00
Female 5,802 $32,558.00

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 727 $65,333.00
Business and Financial 690 $38,879.00
Computer and Mathematical 253 $73,988.00
Architecture and Engineering 258 $70,278.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 100 $65,833.00
Community and Social Service 363 $39,261.00
Legal 79 $50,288.00
Educational and Library 894 $32,647.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 114 $9,574.00
Healthcare Practitioners 886 $56,144.00
Healthcare Support 535 $28,358.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 91 $39,583.00
Law Enforcement 58 $59,091.00
Food Preparation and Serving 663 $15,446.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 630 $30,425.00
Personal Care and Service 198 $11,279.00
Sales 1,005 $32,514.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,722 $28,357.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 78 $13,448.00
Construction and Extraction 436 $44,545.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 181 $37,989.00
Production 873 $35,194.00
Transportation and Material Moving 435 $32,679.00

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 253 $60,120.00 474 $65,873.00
Business and Financial 290 $58,571.00 400 $31,086.00
Computer and Mathematical 186 $87,115.00 67 $72,679.00
Architecture and Engineering 234 $80,417.00 24 $40,833.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 82 $62,279.00 18 $0.00
Community and Social Service 89 $37,656.00 274 $40,250.00
Legal 13 $0.00 66 $39,306.00
Educational and Library 425 $13,365.00 469 $46,771.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 81 $8,697.00 33 $29,671.00
Healthcare Practitioners 188 $56,609.00 698 $55,530.00
Healthcare Support 38 $0.00 497 $28,931.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 68 $41,406.00 23 $0.00
Law Enforcement 25 $0.00 33 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 310 $17,431.00 353 $13,237.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 434 $32,763.00 196 $11,968.00
Personal Care and Service 8 $0.00 190 $11,286.00
Sales 580 $42,533.00 425 $25,396.00
Office and Administrative Support 609 $27,521.00 1,113 $28,984.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 32 $0.00 46 $14,545.00
Construction and Extraction 433 $44,503.00 3 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 181 $37,989.00 0 $0.00
Production 634 $40,463.00 239 $24,819.00
Transportation and Material Moving 411 $33,750.00 24 $26,250.00

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 10,143 households in Kalamazoo, with an average household size of 2.21 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 5,230 families in Kalamazoo with an average family size of 2.91 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 3,179 538 1,513 4,913
Average Household Size 3 2.96 3.18 1.32
Total Families 3,179 538 1,513 0
Average Household Size 2.97 2.45 2.96 0

Poverty

Of the 5,230 families in Kalamazoo, 8.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Kalamazoo:

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 10,903 housing units in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 10,143 93.03%
Vacant 760 6.97%

34.83% of the total 10,903 housing units in Kalamazoo are rental units. This is approximately 3,797 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 6,210 are occupied by the owner - or 56.96% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Kalamazoo is $906.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Kalamazoo 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
    136
  • Less than $500
    353
  • $500 to $999
    1,897
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,259
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    288
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Kalamazoo is $121,800.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    670
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,474
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    1,710
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,572
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    754
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    10
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    20
  • $1,000,000 or more
    0

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    1,312
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,221
  • 1950 to 1959
    2,168
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,304
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,244
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,267
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,481
  • 2000 to 2009
    545
  • 2010 to 2013
    361
  • 2014 or later
    0

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 Kalamazoo that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    864
  • 1 vehicle available
    4,095
  • 2 vehicles available
    3,664
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,520

Commuting to Work

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

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

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
    228
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,051
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,827
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    2,294
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,711
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    796
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,104
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    274
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    284
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    313
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    200
  • 90 or more minutes
    202

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Kalamazoo, 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.