Alpena County, Michigan

Alpena County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the northeast shore of the Lower
Peninsula, where the 45th parallel — halfway between the equator and the North Pole —
crosses Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay. It had a population of 28,907 at the 2020 census,
an estimated 28,853 by 2024, and covers 572 square miles (1,480 km2) of land centred near
45°04′N 83°12′W — plus 1,123 square miles of Lake Huron water within its
boundary, including Thunder Bay.

Alpena is the county seat and the county’s only city; its postal code is 49707. The county
holds 1 city, 1 census-designated place and 18 unincorporated communities across 8 townships, and
it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 26007.

Towns & Villages in Alpena County

Alpena County has 20 named places on record: 1 incorporated city, 1 census-designated place
(CDP) and 18 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for
census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads, rail sidings and rural communities with no
formal boundary.

Two names on this list are easy to mix up. Ossineke the CDP sits in Sanborn Township, on Lake
Huron; Ossineke Township, a separate 1,635-resident township with its own government, lies
several miles inland to the west and does not touch the CDP that shares its name. Hubbard Lake,
the community, is administered by Ossineke Township even though the lake it sits near is mostly
in neighbouring Alcona County. A small corner of Hillman village, mostly a Montmorency County
place, also reaches into Green Township here — only about four residents of Hillman are
Alpena County residents.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 49707 — Alpena (also serves Alpena Charter Township and Lakewood)
• 49766 — Ossineke
• 49747 — Hubbard Lake
• 49753 — Lachine
• 49744 — Herron

Alpena Junction, Ashland, Bolton, Cathro, Emerson Station, Flanders, Lakeshore Estates MH Park,
Leer, Long Rapids, McHarg, Paxton, Riverview Estates MH Park, Rockport and Spratt have no ZIP of
their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code. Three more
ZIPs reach into the county from post offices seated elsewhere — 49746 (Hillman), 49776
(Posen) and 48762 (Spruce) — but none of those three post office towns is itself an Alpena
County place.

Geography

Alpena County sits on Michigan’s northeast shore, where the 45th parallel — the
halfway line between the equator and the North Pole — crosses US-23 just south of the city.
Of its 1,695 square miles, only 572 are land; the remaining 1,123 square miles, two-thirds of the
county’s total area, are open water on Lake Huron and Thunder Bay, a large embayment studded
with shipwrecks now protected inside the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Long Lake, split
between Alpena and Wilson townships, is the largest inland lake. The Thunder Bay River flows
through the city of Alpena on its way to the bay.

Presque Isle County lies to the north, Montmorency County to the west, Oscoda County to the
southwest and Alcona County to the south; Lake Huron forms the entire eastern boundary. Presque Isle County, Montmorency County, Oscoda County and Alcona County all border Alpena directly.

Demographics

Alpena County had a population of 28,907 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts the county near 28,853 residents, a slight decline. Alpena city and Alpena Charter
Township, which surround each other but are administered separately, together hold about two
thirds of the county’s people. Median household income in the county runs $53,950, well
below Michigan’s statewide figure of $69,183 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to
about 51 people per square mile of land, low even by rural northern-Michigan standards, a
reflection of how much of the county’s area is open water rather than land.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 2,266 people,
followed by manufacturing at 1,651 and retail trade at 1,510. MidMichigan Health runs a rural
regional referral hospital in Alpena and is the county’s largest single employer. Besser
Company, a manufacturer of concrete-block and precast equipment founded in Alpena in 1904, and a
Holcim cement plant on the city’s waterfront anchor the manufacturing base. Alpena Community
College serves the county and the wider region. The county’s best-known annual event is
Alpena’s Cardboard Boat Regatta each July, when homemade cardboard boats race across the
Thunder Bay River in the city.

History

Michigan’s legislature created the county in 1840 as Anamickee County, from the Ojibwe
word animikii, meaning thunder — a nod to Thunder Bay. It was renamed Alpena in 1843, one of
several counties Henry Schoolcraft renamed around that time; he coined the word to mean “a
good partridge country.” The county was formally organized in 1857. Alpena city incorporated
in 1871, the same year most of it burned in the Great Michigan Fire; a second major fire struck
the rebuilt city in July 1872.

Getting There

No interstate highway reaches Alpena County. US-23, the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway, runs the
length of the county along the Lake Huron shore; M-32 ends its 100-mile run from Lake Michigan at
US-23 in downtown Alpena, and M-65 crosses the county’s interior.

• Rogers City — north on US-23, the next incorporated city up the shore
• Oscoda — south on US-23, along the same Lake Huron coastline
• Gaylord — west on M-32, at its junction with I-75
• Cheboygan — north on US-23, near the top of the Lower Peninsula

Alpena County Regional Airport, six miles west of downtown Alpena, offers Delta Connection
flights to Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul — the nearest commercial air service is the
county’s own. Indian Trails runs an Amtrak Thruway connector bus between Alpena and Amtrak
rail service farther south; the county has no rail passenger station of its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Alpena County located?
It sits on Michigan’s northeast shore on Lake Huron, bordered by Presque Isle, Montmorency,
Oscoda and Alcona counties.

What is the population of Alpena County?
28,907 at the 2020 census, with a latest estimate near 28,853.

How big is Alpena County?
1,695 square miles in total, but only 572 square miles are land — the rest is Lake Huron and
Thunder Bay.

What is the county seat of Alpena County?
Alpena, the county’s only incorporated city, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Alpena County?
One city (Alpena), one census-designated place (Ossineke) and 18 unincorporated communities
spread across 8 townships.

What ZIP codes does Alpena County use?
49707 for Alpena, 49766 for Ossineke, 49747 for Hubbard Lake, 49753 for Lachine and 49744 for
Herron.

What is Alpena County known for?
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s shipwrecks, the Rockport State Recreation Area’s
limestone quarry and sinkholes, and Alpena’s annual Cardboard Boat Regatta.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Michigan.