Baraga County, Michigan
Baraga County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,158, making it Michigan's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is L'Anse. The county is named after Bishop Frederic Baraga, a Catholic missionary who ministered to the Ojibwa Indians in the Michigan Territory. The L'Anse Indian Reservation of the Ojibwa is within Baraga County. Geography. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (16%) is water. The county is located in the  state's Upper Peninsula on the shore of Lake Superior, at the southeast base of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The villages of Baraga and L'Anse are located at the base of Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay. Point Abbaye projects north into the lake, enclosing Huron Bay. The eastern two-thirds of the county includes much of the Huron Mountains, including Mount Arvon—the highest natural point in Michigan at 1,979 feet (603 m). Demographics. The 2010 United States Census indicates Baraga County had a population of 8,860. This increase of 114 people from the 2000 United States Census. is a 1.3 % population growth. In 2010 there were 3,444 households and 2,209 families in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km). There were 5,270 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km). 75.0% of the population were White, 13.1% Native American, 7.2% Black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 4.4% of two or more races. 1.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 22.5% were of Finnish, 9.1% German, 8.8% French, French Canadian or Cajun, 5.6% English and 5.5% Irish ancestry. There were 3,444 households, out  of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.82. The county population contained 20.2% under the age of 18, 7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years  of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. 54.9% of the population was male, 45.1% was female. The median income for a household in the county was $40,115, and the median income for a family was $50,996. The per capita income for the county was $19,076. About 9.5% of families and 13% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over. Government. Baraga County has tended to vote Republican through the years. Since 1884 its voters have selected the Republican Party  nominee in 64% (22 of 35) of the national elections through 2020. Baraga County operates the County jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions – police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance etc. – are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.