Luce County leads the state with largest percentage of population drop

LANSING — Though Michigan’s population grew by 2% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, most Michigan counties lost residents, according to data released Thursday.

Of Michigan’s 83 counties, 50 lost residents over the 10-year period.

And no counties lost residents at higher rates than ones in the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan’s fastest-shrinking counties, in percentage terms, were:

• Luce County, in the eastern U.P., where the population dropped 19.5%, to 5,339
• Ontonagon County, in the western U.P., which slipped 14.2%, to 5,816
• Gogebic County, in the western U.P., which lost 12.5% of its residents, leaving it with 14,380
• Isabella County, in the central Lower Peninsula, where the population dropped 8.4%, to 64,394
• Baraga County, in the western U.P., which slipped 7.9%, to 8,158

Though the above five counties shrank the most in percentage terms, none of them was tops in Michigan for losing the most residents.

That distinction goes to Wayne County, which lost just over 27,000 residents when its population shrank 1.5%. Next was Genesee County, which lost close to 20,000 residents, the data show.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.