Grand Traverse County, Michigan

Grand Traverse County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the northern Lower Peninsula
around the head of Grand Traverse Bay. It had a population of 95,238 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 96,729 by 2025, and covers 601 square miles (1,560 km2) centred near 44°44′N 85°33′W.

Traverse City is the county seat; its postal code is 49684. The county holds 1 city, 2
villages and 13 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 26055.

Towns & Villages in Grand Traverse County

Grand Traverse County has 22 named places on record: 1 city, 2 incorporated villages, 3
census-designated places and 16 unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census designated
place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Two names on this list overlap a township of the same name: the crossroads community of Acme
sits inside Acme Township, and the hamlet of Mayfield sits inside Mayfield Township — they
are not the same entity as the civil township, only its namesake settlement. Long Lake the
unincorporated place is a small crossroads on the shore of Long Lake, the body of water that
gives Long Lake Township its name.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 49684, 49685, 49686 and 49696 — Traverse City (49685 also serves Grawn and Chums
  Corner, in Blair Township)
• 49649 — Kingsley
• 49633 — Fife Lake
• 49643 — Interlochen
• 49690 — Williamsburg
• 49673 — Old Mission
• 49610 — Acme

Brookside, Devils Elbow, Fivemile Corner, Hannah, Hilltop, Jacks Landing, Karlin, Long Lake,
Mapleton, Mayfield, Monroe Center, Neahtawanta, Summit City, Walton, Wexford Corner and Yuba have
no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated place’s code.

Geography

Grand Traverse County straddles the base of the Old Mission Peninsula, the narrow finger of
land that splits Grand Traverse Bay into an East Arm and a West Arm. Of its 601 square miles,
464 are land and 137 are water, about 23 percent — unusually high for an inland Michigan
county, driven almost entirely by the bay itself. Long Lake, entirely within the county, is its
largest inland lake; Boardman Lake sits inside Traverse City, and the Boardman River flows north
through Garfield Township into the bay.

Antrim and Kalkaska counties lie to the east, Missaukee County to the southeast, Wexford
County to the south, Manistee County to the southwest, and Benzie and Leelanau counties to the
west and northwest. Antrim County,
Kalkaska County,
Missaukee County,
Wexford County,
Manistee County,
Benzie County and
Leelanau County all border Grand
Traverse directly.

Demographics

Grand Traverse County had a population of 95,238 at the 2020 census, and the 2025 estimate
puts the county near 96,729 residents, a density of roughly 205 people per square mile of land.
Traverse City and Garfield Charter Township are by far the two most populous communities, and
together with East Bay and Long Lake townships they hold the bulk of the county’s residents in a
belt around the bay. Median household income runs $81,647 (2024 ACS, Data USA), well above
Michigan’s statewide figure of $69,183 (2023 ACS).

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 8,610 people,
followed by retail trade at 6,099 and manufacturing at 4,839. Munson Healthcare, headquartered in
Traverse City, is the county’s largest single employer with roughly 3,100 workers. Traverse City
Area Public Schools employs about 1,800, and Northwestern Michigan College around 750. Tourism
drives much of the retail and hospitality sector, built on the bay’s beaches, Peninsula
Township’s wineries on the Old Mission Peninsula AVA, and the region’s cherry orchards. The
county’s biggest annual event is the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City each July, which
draws roughly 500,000 visitors.

History

Michigan’s legislature first laid out the area in 1840 as Omeena County; it was reorganised
and renamed Grand Traverse County in 1851. The name comes from Grand Traverse Bay, itself named
by French voyageurs for “la grande traversée,” the long crossing they made paddling from
headland to headland rather than following the shoreline. The first European settlement dates to
1839, and Traverse City was platted in 1847 and incorporated as a city in 1895.

Interlochen, in Green Lake Township, became home to the National High School Orchestra Camp
in 1928, founded by Joseph E. Maddy. It grew into Interlochen Center for the Arts, now a summer
arts camp, boarding arts high school and public radio station, and is a designated Michigan
State Historic Site.

Getting There

US 31 and US 131 both pass through the county, along with M-22, M-37, M-72, M-113 and
M-186; no interstate highway crosses Grand Traverse County.

• Petoskey — about 45 miles north
• Cadillac — about 30 miles south
• Charlevoix — about 35 miles north
• Manistee — about 45 miles southwest

Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), about two miles southeast of downtown Traverse City, offers
year-round flights to Chicago O’Hare, Detroit and Phoenix-Mesa plus seasonal routes to several
other hubs. There is no Amtrak service in this part of Michigan; the nearest Amtrak station is
well south of the county.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Grand Traverse County located?
It sits on Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula around Grand Traverse Bay, bordered by Antrim,
Kalkaska, Missaukee, Wexford, Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau counties.

What is the population of Grand Traverse County?
95,238 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 96,729.

How big is Grand Traverse County?
601 square miles (1,560 km2), of which 464 square miles are land and 137 square miles are
water.

What is the county seat of Grand Traverse County?
Traverse City, platted in 1847 and incorporated in 1895, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Grand Traverse County?
One city (Traverse City), two incorporated villages (Fife Lake and Kingsley), three
census-designated places (Grawn, Chums Corner and Interlochen), and 16 named unincorporated
communities spread across 13 townships.

What ZIP codes does Grand Traverse County use?
49684, 49685, 49686 and 49696 for Traverse City; 49649 for Kingsley; 49633 for Fife Lake; 49643
for Interlochen; 49690 for Williamsburg; 49673 for Old Mission; and 49610 for Acme.

What is Grand Traverse County known for?
The National Cherry Festival, the Old Mission Peninsula wine region, and Interlochen Center for
the Arts, the summer arts camp and boarding high school founded in 1928.

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