by Jim Miller, August 8, 2026

CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MICHIGAN

Population: 36,785 (4th)
Pop. Density: 23.57 people/sq. mile (5th)
Land Area: 1,561 sq. miles (2nd)
Water Area: 1,137 sq. miles (5th)
County Seat: Sault Ste. Marie
Towns: Barbeau, Brimley, Dafter, De Tour Village, Drumond Island, Hulbert, Kincheloe, Kinross, Pickford, Rudyard, Sault Ste. Marie, Trout Lake, Goetzville, Paradise, Eckerman

At the far eastern edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where the St. Marys River spills from Lake Superior into the lower Great Lakes, Chippewa County feels like a threshold between wilderness and industry.

It’s the home of the Soo Locks, the oldest city in Michigan, and a landscape shaped by centuries of Native American presence, fur trade, lumbering, and today’s mix of tourism, agriculture, and small-town life.

Chippewa County Formation & Naming

Chippewa County was set off and organized in 1826, making it one of the Upper Peninsula’s earliest counties.

Its original boundaries were enormous, at one time stretching across much of what would become northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and even parts of Minnesota before being pared down by later acts of the legislature.

The county takes its name from the Ojibwe people, commonly known as the Chippewa, who have lived along these waterways for well over a thousand years.

Long before European settlers arrived, the area around present-day Sault Ste. Marie was a major gathering place for multiple tribes, drawn by the rich fisheries at the rapids and the strategic location between the upper and lower lakes.

Chippewa County Seat & Population

The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie, usually called “the Soo,” which proudly holds the title of Michigan’s oldest city, dating back to Father Jacques Marquette’s mission in 1668.

As of the 2020 census, Chippewa County had a population of 36,785, with more recent estimates hovering around 36,000 to 36,100.

The county is the most populous in the Upper Peninsula, yet it still feels distinctly rural and spacious, with long stretches of forest, farmland, and shoreline between its communities.

Chippewa County Cities, Towns & Communities

Sault Ste. Marie dominates the county as its only incorporated city and economic hub, anchored by the world-famous Soo Locks, the Tower of History, Lake Superior State University, and the international bridge to Ontario.

Beyond the Soo, larger townships and census-designated places include Kinross, home to a correctional facility and the Kinross School, and the lakeside communities of Pickford, Rudyard, Dafter, and Bay Mills.

Smaller spots like Paradise, near the stunning Whitefish Point and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, and Drummond Island, with its rugged limestone shores and ATV trails, offer some of the region’s best-kept secrets.

The county also includes portions of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the Bay Mills Indian Community, whose cultural presence and events add depth to the local identity.

By Mike Miller, Copyright 2020-2026 YooperSecrets.com

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