Macomb County (pronounced mə-KOHM) is located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, bordering Detroit to the north and including many areas to the north of the city. The county seat is Mt. Clemens, and the largest city is Warren. According to the 2020 census, the county had a population of 881,217, making it the third-largest county in the state, after neighboring Wayne and Oakland counties. Macomb County has 27 cities, townships, and villages, including three of the ten largest cities in Michigan. Most of the population lives south of Hall Road (M-59), which is one of the county's main roads.

History

The Ojibwe people lived in the area for many years before Europeans arrived. Before them, other groups of Native American people lived there.

The first European settlers were French people who came to the area in the 1600s. Other early settlers included French fur trappers, who sometimes married Ojibwe women, and Jesuit missionaries. A Moravian religious group started a colony in the county in the late 1700s. Later, people from Germany, Belgium, and other parts of Europe moved there. In the 1800s, many European-American people from New York and New England arrived because they wanted land and jobs in the lumber and resource industries.

Macomb County was officially created on January 15, 1818, as the third county in the Michigan Territory. It was named after Alexander Macomb, Jr., a man born in Detroit who fought bravely in the War of 1812 and became a hero in the Battle of Plattsburg. In 1828, he was named the top leader of the U.S. Army.

At first, Macomb County covered a much larger area than it does today. As the population grew, the state government took parts of the county in 1819 and 1820 to create Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee, and St. Clair counties.

After World War II, Macomb County and nearby Oakland County grew quickly because people moved to suburbs. Between 1950 and 1960, the population of Macomb County more than doubled. Unlike Oakland County, which had many white-collar jobs, most people in Macomb County worked in manufacturing, such as automobile factories, and held blue-collar jobs.

In May 2008, voters in Macomb County agreed to add a County Executive position to a new government plan. A group of people was elected in November 2008 to write the plan, which was sent to the governor and approved. The plan was then put on the ballot in November 2009 and passed by voters with 60.4% approval.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county covers an area of 571 square miles (1,480 km²), with 479 square miles (1,240 km²) being land and 92 square miles (240 km²) (16%) being water. The border between the county and Canada is located in the southeast, across Lake St. Clair.

Lake St. Clair is located to the east of the county.

Macomb County is mostly considered part of Southeast Michigan. However, the northern areas of the county, including Richmond and Armada, are sometimes considered part of Michigan's Thumb region.

The county includes mostly rural and agricultural areas in the north and a mix of suburban and urban areas in the south.

Surrounding counties include:
– St. Clair County, Michigan – northeast
– Lapeer County, Michigan – northwest
– Oakland County, Michigan – west
– Wayne County, Michigan – south

Surrounding area:
– Lambton County, Ontario, Canada – southeast

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 881,217. The median age was 41.5 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18, and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males, and for every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 92.9 males aged 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county in 2020 was 76.3% White, 12.4% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.4% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 3.0% of the population.

The 2020 census also showed that 96.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 353,201 households in the county. 28.0% of these households had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.9% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 369,404 housing units, of which 4.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.6% were owner-occupied, and 26.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%, and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 840,978 people living in the county. 85.4% were White, 8.6% were Black or African American, 3.0% were Asian, 0.3% were Native American, 0.6% were from some other race, and 2.1% were from two or more races. 2.3% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 14.8% had German ancestry, 14.3% had Polish ancestry, 11.1% had Italian ancestry, 6.5% had Irish ancestry, and 5.9% had American ancestry.

In 2000, 87.6% of county residents spoke only English at home. 1.7% spoke Italian, 1.4% spoke Polish, 1.2% spoke Spanish, 1.1% spoke Arabic, and 1.1% spoke Syriac.

European ethnic groups that have settled in Macomb County since the late 20th century include Bosnians, Albanians, and Macedonians.

Among Asian ethnic groups, eight groups numbered over 1,000 people in Macomb County. These groups included Arabs, Asian Indians, Chaldo-Assyrians, Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Hmong. Pakistanis are also represented in Macomb County’s population.

Native American tribes had more than 2,478 residents in Macomb County in 2000.

In 2000, there were 309,203 households. 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.09.

In 2000, the age distribution of the county was as follows: 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $62,816. Males had a median income of $48,303, and females had a median income of $30,215. The per capita income for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

According to the 2006 American Community Survey, the average family size was 3.15. The population of 25 and over was 571,463. 86.9% of that population had graduated from high school, and 21% had a Bachelor’s degree or higher. About 14.

Parks and recreation

Macomb County has more than 130 parks covering 12,000 acres (49 km ) managed by state, regional, county, and local governments. The four main public parks in the county are Freedom Hill County Park, Macomb Orchard Trail, Lake St. Clair Metropark, and Stony Creek Metropark. In addition, the county has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas.

Government

The county government manages the jail, repairs rural roads, runs local courts, keeps records of property deeds and mortgages, stores important documents, enforces public health rules, and works with the state to provide welfare and social services. The county board of commissioners decides the budget and creates rules for county activities. In Michigan, most local government tasks, such as police and fire services, building and zoning laws, tax assessments, and street repairs, are handled by cities and townships.

The Macomb Intermediate School District serves all schools located in the county.

• County Executive: Mark Hackel (Democrat)
• Prosecuting Attorney: Peter Lucido (Republican)
• Sheriff: Anthony Wickersham (Democrat)
• County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Anthony Forlini (Republican)
• County Treasurer: Larry Rocca (Republican)
• Public Works Commissioner: Candice Miller (Republican)
• Macomb County Board of Commissioners: 13 members, elected from districts (5 Democrats, 8 Republicans)
• Circuit Court: 13 judges (non-partisan)
• Probate Court: 2 judges (non-partisan)

Macomb County has usually supported Republican candidates in statewide elections but often chooses Democratic candidates in federal and local elections. Since the 2010s, the county has increasingly supported Republicans. After the 2020 elections, Republicans gained control of the Board of Commissioners and won four of the five countywide offices up for election. The county became well-known in the 1980s and 1990s as a representative of state and national politics. Macomb’s large group of middle-class, socially conservative White voters made it one of the nation’s most notable areas with "Reagan Democrats." Candidates with conservative-populist views have done well in the county, such as Pat Buchanan in 1992 and Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Macomb County voters were mainly responsible for the failure of the 2016 Regional Transit Authority proposal to create a public transit system in the Detroit area.

Areas south of M-59 (Warren, Sterling Heights, Clinton Charter Township), closer to Detroit, are more supportive of Democrats. Warren leans Democratic, while Sterling Heights, after voting for Barack Obama in 2012, supported Trump by about 12 points in both 2016 and 2020. In 2018, it supported Gretchen Whitmer and Debbie Stabenow by 3 points. Clinton Charter Township, after voting for Obama in 2012, supported Trump in 2016 but changed its support to Whitmer and Stabenow in 2018 and to Joe Biden in 2020. Areas north of M-59, farther from Detroit, are more strongly Republican. These areas supported Trump in 2016 and 2020 and Bill Schuette in 2018.

Transportation

• Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET) (Detroit) – Used for small planes and private flights
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) (Romulus) – A large airport where many commercial flights take off and land, including flights operated by Delta Air Lines and Spirit Airlines
• Oakland County International Airport (PTK) (Waterford Township) – A facility used for private charter flights
• St. Clair County International Airport (near Port Huron, Michigan) – A small airport located near the border between the United States and Canada
• Selfridge Air National Guard Base (Mount Clemens) – A military airport used by the Air National Guard
• Romeo State Airport (2 miles east of Romeo, Michigan) – A small airport used for private flights within Macomb County
• Ray Community Airport (2 miles southeast of Ray, Michigan) – A small airport used for private flights within Macomb County
• Marine City Airport (4 miles west of Marine City, Michigan) – A small airport used for private flights in Saint Clair County
• Oakland/Troy Airport (2 miles east of Troy, Michigan) – A small airport used for private flights in Oakland County

• I-94 (Edsel Ford Freeway) runs west through Detroit and connects to Ann Arbor to the west (where it continues to Chicago) and Port Huron to the northeast. A section of I-94 between Ypsilanti and Detroit was one of the first limited-access highways in the United States. Henry Ford built this highway during World War II to connect his factories in Willow Run and Dearborn. This part of the highway was called the Willow Run Expressway.
• I-696 (Walter Reuther Freeway) runs east-west from the junction of I-96, I-275, and M-5 to I-94, providing a route through the northern suburbs of Detroit.
• M-3 (Gratiot Avenue) is a major road that runs from Marysville to downtown Detroit. The section of the road between 23 Mile Road and New Haven Road is not numbered. Between New Haven Road and Main Street in Richmond, the road is part of M-19. Between Richmond and Marysville, the road is not numbered.
• M-19 starts in New Haven and goes up Gratiot Avenue to Richmond. The route leaves Gratiot and continues northwest through Richmond and then north through Memphis. It travels north through St. Clair and Sanilac Counties and ends at M-142 near Bad Axe in Huron County.
• M-29 begins as part of 23 Mile Road, east of I-94, and ends in Marysville.
• M-53, also called the Van Dyke Freeway and Christopher Columbus Freeway, runs from 18 Mile Road in Sterling Heights to 27 1⁄2 Mile Road in Washington Township. It is also called the POW/MIA Memorial Freeway from 27 1⁄2 Mile Road in Washington Township to its end at 34 Mile Road in Bruce Township. Locally, it is known as the Van Dyke Freeway. It continues north as Van Dyke Road or Van Dyke Avenue to Port Austin and south through Warren to Gratiot Avenue in Detroit.
• M-59 (Veterans Memorial Freeway) runs from Utica to Pontiac, continuing east as Hall Road to Gratiot Avenue and as William P. Rosso Highway to its end at I-94. It also runs west as various surface roads to I-96 near Howell.
• M-97 (Groesbeck Highway) begins in Detroit at Gratiot (M-3) and ends at Hall Road (M-59).
• M-102 (8 Mile Road), known for the film 8 Mile, separates Detroit to the south from the suburbs of Macomb and Oakland counties to the north. Outside of Detroit, it is called Baseline Road because it aligns with the baseline used in surveying Michigan, which also serves as the boundary for many counties.

• Jefferson Avenue is a scenic highway that runs along the shore of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. It is also the main road through the Grosse Pointes, where it is called Lake Shore Drive.
• Mound Road is a north-south divided highway that runs from a junction with Mt. Elliott Street in Detroit to Auburn Road north of M-59 in Shelby Township. It runs parallel to M-53/Van Dyke Road one mile to the west. A large interchange with I-696 is a remnant of a planned highway upgrade that was canceled.
• "Mile" roads: In Metro Detroit, major east-west streets called "mile roads" are spaced one mile apart and numbered as they move north from the city center. These roads often have two names: a numeric name (such as 15 Mile Road) used in Macomb County and a local name (such as Maple Road) used in Oakland County.

By the end of the 1950s, the New York Central Railroad operated several trains from Mackinaw City at the northern end of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, with stops at Warren station. The last passenger train from Bay City to Detroit through Warren stopped on March 19, 1964.

Communities

• Armada
• New Haven
• Romeo

• Chesterfield Charter Township
• Clinton Charter Township
• Harrison Charter Township
• Shelby Charter Township
• Washington Charter Township

• Armada Township
• Bruce Township
• Lenox Township
• Macomb Township
• Ray Township
• Richmond Township

• Erin Township
• Lake Township
• Sterling Township
• Warren Township /

Notable people

• Dean Cain: actor, Mount Clemens
• Dave Coulier: actor/comedian, St. Clair Shores
• Adrienne Frantz: actress and singer, Mount Clemens, Michigan
• Faye Grant: actress, St. Clair Shores
• Kathleen Rose Perkins: actress, New Baltimore
• Crystal Reed: actress, Roseville, Michigan

• George Herbert Allen: coached in the NFL and USFL, St. Clair Shores
• David Booth: NHL player, Washington Township
• Kyle Connor: NHL player for the Winnipeg Jets
• Dave Debol: NHL player, St. Clair Shores
• Danny DeKeyser: NHL player, Macomb County
• Joe DeLamielleure: NFL player, Center Line
• John DiGiorgio: NFL player, Macomb, Shelby Township
• Sheldon Dries: NHL player, Macomb Twp.
• Denny Felsner: NHL player, Warren
• Derian Hatcher: NHL player, Sterling Heights
• Kevin Hatcher: NHL player, Sterling Heights
• Pat Hentgen: MLB player, Fraser
• Bryan Herta: race car driver, Warren
• Matt Hunwick: NHL player, Warren
• Ron Kramer: NFL player, Eastpointe
• Craig Krenzel: NFL player, Sterling Heights
• Chad LaRose: NHL player, Fraser
• John Mazza: PBA bowler, Shelby Township
• Shirley Muldowney: race car driver, Armada
• John Smoltz: MLB player, Warren
• Jim Sorgi: NFL player, Fraser
• Matt Taormina: NHL player, Warren
• Michele Van Gorp: WNBA player from Duke University, Warren
• Doug Weight: NHL player, Warren
• Mark Wells: member of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, St. Clair Shores
• Johnny White: race car driver, Warren
• Ernie Whitt: MLB player, Roseville
• Frank Zombo: NFL player, Sterling Heights
• Kyle Cook: NFL player, Macomb Twp.
• Steve Oleksy: NHL player, Chesterfield Twp.
• Tyler Conklin: NFL player, Chesterfield Twp.
• Sean Murphy-Bunting: NFL player, Macomb Twp.

• Kid Rock: Romeo
• Mitch Ryder: Roseville
• Justin Jeffre: (98 Degrees), Mount Clemens
• Uncle Kracker: Harrison Township
• Eminem: Warren
• Fred "Sonic" Smith: St. Clair Shores
• Alice Cooper: Eastpointe
• Chuck Inglish: Mt. Clemens

• Joe Cada: professional poker player, Shelby Township
• Dick Enberg: sportscaster, Armada
• Martha Griffiths: Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (1983–1991), Armada
• Alex Groesbeck: politician, Warren
• Butch Hartman: creator of the cartoon show The Fairly OddParents, New Baltimore
• Ian Hornak: artist, Mount Clemens
• George F. Lewis: proprietor of newspapers
• Jerry M. Linenger: NASA astronaut, Eastpointe
• Howard Wiest: Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Washington Township