YOOPER COUNTIES

by Mike Miller Updated September 1, 2026

The Upper Peninsula has 15 counties.  Marquette County has the largest population at 67,077.  Keweenaw County has the fewest people with 2,156.

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RANKING OF YOOPER COUNTIES

MARQUETTE
Population: 67,077 (1st)
Pop. Density: 36.25 people/sq. mile (2nd)
Land Area: 1,821 sq. miles (1st)
Water Area: 1,604 sq. miles (4th)
County Seat: Marquette
Towns: Marquette, Arnold, Big Bay, Champion, Gwinn, Harvey, Ishpeming, Little Lake, Michigamme, Negaunee, Palmer, Republic, Skandia

HOUGHTON
Population: 37,361 (2nd)
Pop. Density: 36.92 people/sq. mile (1st)
Land Area: 1,012 sq. miles (10th)
Water Area: 490 sq. miles (10th)
County Seat: Houghton
Towns: Atlantic Mine, Calumet, Chassell, Dollar Bay, Hancock, Houghton, Hubbell, Lake Linden, Laurium, Nisula, Painesdale, Sidnaw, South Range, Toivola

DELTA
Population: 36,903 (3rd)
Pop. Density: 31.54 people/sq. mile (4th)
Land Area: 1,170 sq. miles (6th)
Water Area: 822 sq. miles (8th)
County Seat: Escanaba
Towns: Bark River, Cornell, Escanaba, Garden, Gladstone, Perkins, Rapid River, Rock, Wells, Nahma

CHIPPEWA
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

DICKINSON
Population: 25,947 (5th)
Pop. Density: 33.87 people/sq. mile (3rd)
Land Area: 766 sq. miles (14th)
Water Area: 11 sq. miles (15th)
County Seat: Iron Mountain
Towns: Channing, Felch, Foster City, Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Loretto, Norway, Quinnesec, Sagola, Vulcan

MENOMINEE
Population: 23,502 (6th)
Pop. Density: 22.51 people/sq. mile (6th)
Land Area: 1,044 sq. miles (8th)
Water Area: 294 sq. miles (12th)
County Seat: Menominee
Towns: Carney, Cedar River, Daggett, Harris, Hermansville, Ingalls, Menominee, Nadeau, Perronville, Powers, Spalding, Stephenson, Wallace, Wilson

GOGEBIC
Population: 14,380 (7th)
Pop. Density: 13.06 people/sq. mile (7th)
Land Area: 1,101 sq. miles (7th)
Water Area: 375 sq. miles (11th)
County Seat: Bessemer
Towns: Bessemer, Ironwood, Marenisco, Ramsay, Wakefield, Watersmeet

IRON
Population: 11,631 (8th)
Pop. Density: 9.89 people/sq. mile (9th)
Land Area: 1,176 sq. miles (5th)
Water Area: 45 sq. miles (14th)
County Seat: Crystal Falls
Towns: Amasa, Caspian, Crystal Falls, Gaastra, Iron River, Stambaugh

MACKINAC
Population: 11,444 (9th)
Pop. Density: 10.69 people/sq. mile
Land Area: 1,022 sq. miles
County Seat: St. Ignace
Towns: St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Clark, Garfield, Moran, Portage, Marquette, Brevort, Newton, Cedarville, Hessel, Naubinway, Engadine, Curtis

ALGER
Population: 8,842 (10th)
Pop. Density: 9.63 people/sq. mile (10th)
Land Area: 918 sq. miles (11th)
Water Area: 4,131 sq. miles (2nd)
County Seat: Munising
Towns: Au Train, Chatham, Christmas, Deerton, Grand Marais, Limestone, Munising, Shingleton, Trenary, Wetmore, Eben Junction

BARAGA
Population: 8,158 (11th)
Pop. Density: 9.02 people/sq. mile (11th)
Land Area: 904 sq. miles (12th)
Water Area: 165 sq. miles (13th)
County Seat: L'Anse
Towns: Baraga, Covington, Keweenaw Bay, L'Anse, Pelkie, Watton

SCHOOLCRAFT
Population: 8,047 (12th)
Pop. Density: 6.83 people/sq. mile (12th)
Land Area: 1,178 sq. miles (4th)
Water Area: 706 sq. miles (9th)
County Seat: Manistique
Towns: Manistique

ONTONAGON
Population: 5,816 (13th)
Pop. Density: 4.43 people/sq. mile (14th)
Land Area: 1,312 sq. miles (3rd)
Water Area: 2,430 sq. miles (3rd)
County Seat: Ontonagon
Towns: Ontonagon, Trout Creek, White Pine

LUCE
Population: 5,339 (14th)
Pop. Density: 5.91 people/sq. mile (13th)
Land Area: 903 sq. miles (13th)
Water Area: 1,009 sq. miles (7th)
County Seat: Newberry
Towns: McMillan, Newberry

KEWEENAW
Population: 2,156 (15th)
Pop. Density: 3.78 people/sq. mile (15th)
Land Area: 541 sq. miles (15th)
Water Area: 5,425 sq. miles (1st)
County Seat: Eagle River
Towns: Copper Harbor, Eagle Harbor, Mohawk, Allouez

Michigan Upper Peninsula Townships

In addition to these counties, Michigan is also divided into civil townships.  Sometimes these townships are the dominant government in a county.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula contains 149 civil townships (general-law and charter townships combined).

These are distributed across the UP’s 15 counties as follows:

• Alger: 8
• Baraga: 5
• Chippewa: 16
• Delta: 14
• Dickinson: 7
• Gogebic: 6
• Houghton: 14
• Iron: 7
• Keweenaw: 5
• Luce: 4
• Mackinac: 11
• Marquette: 19
• Menominee: 14
• Ontonagon: 11
• Schoolcraft: 8

This count is consistent with Michigan’s statewide total of 1,240 townships and with regional planning-region tallies for the western, central, and eastern UP.

Townships in the UP are often larger than the typical 36-square-mile survey township because they combine multiple survey townships in sparsely populated forested areas.

By Mike Miller, Copyright 2020-2026 YooperSecrets.com

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