Ingham County, Michigan

Ingham County is a county in Michigan, United States, home to Lansing, the state capital, in the
south-central Lower Peninsula. It had a population of 284,900 at the 2020 census, an estimated
289,709 by 2025, and covers 556 square miles (1,440 km2) centred near 42°36′N 84°22′W.

Mason is the county seat; its postal code is 48854. The county holds 5 cities, 3 incorporated
villages and 4 census-designated places across 16 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS
code is 26065.

Towns & Villages in Ingham County

Ingham County has 12 named places with verified population and postal data: 5 cities, 3
incorporated villages and 4 census-designated places (CDPs). CDP stands for census designated
place, an unincorporated community with defined boundaries but no local government of its own.

Lansing and East Lansing are independent cities under Michigan law, not part of any township —
Lansing carries the state capital and extends into neighboring Eaton and Clinton counties, so its
112,644 residents are not all Ingham County residents. East Lansing similarly reaches into Clinton
County to the north. Williamston, though ringed by Williamstown Township, is governed separately
from it, the same way Mason sits inside Vevay Township’s boundary but runs its own city
government. The county also has scattered rural crossroads and mobile-home communities with no
incorporated status and no population or ZIP data on record with the Census Bureau, so they are
not listed individually here.

Townships

ZIP Codes

• 48854 — Mason (also serves parts of Vevay and Onondaga townships)
• 48864 — Okemos
• 48840 — Haslett (also serves 48823, 48864 and 48895 border areas)
• 48842 — Holt
• 48895 — Williamston
• 49251 — Leslie
• 48892 — Webberville
• 49285 — Stockbridge
• 48819 — Dansville

Lansing and East Lansing each carry a large block of their own ZIP codes — Lansing uses
48906 and a run from 48908 through 48919, plus several P.O.-box-only codes; East Lansing uses
48823 through 48826. Edgemont Park has no ZIP of its own; mail there is delivered under one of
Lansing’s codes.

Geography

Ingham County sits in Michigan’s south-central Lower Peninsula, on the transition between
the Saginaw Lowlands and the hillier terrain to the south. Of its 561 square miles, 556 are land
and 4.6 are water, about 0.8 percent — the county has no large natural lake, and its water
area is mostly river channel. The Grand River runs through the northwestern part of the county
past Lansing, and the Red Cedar River, a Grand River tributary, crosses East Lansing and Meridian
Township past Michigan State University. Sycamore Creek flows north through Vevay Township into
Lansing.

Shiawassee County lies to the northeast, Livingston County to the east, Washtenaw County to the
southeast, Jackson County to the south, Eaton County to the west and Clinton County to the north.
Shiawassee County, Washtenaw County and Eaton County all have their own pages on
this site; Livingston, Jackson and Clinton counties border Ingham directly but do not currently
have a live Michigan county profile here.

Demographics

Ingham County had a population of 284,900 at the 2020 census, and a 2025 estimate puts the
county near 289,709 residents. Lansing and East Lansing are the two largest communities, together
accounting for well over half the county’s population once their in-county shares are
counted. Median household income in the county runs about $65,526 (2024 estimate, Data USA),
below Michigan’s statewide $69,183 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 512
people per square mile of land, high for Michigan outside the Detroit metro, driven by the
Lansing-East Lansing urban core and Michigan State University’s student population.

Economy & Local Life

Educational services employs the most county residents, about 24,500 people, followed by
health care and social assistance at 18,229 and retail trade at 14,182. Michigan State University
in East Lansing is the county’s largest single employer and enrolled 51,838 students as of
spring 2026, drawing a research, medical and veterinary complex that anchors the local economy.
Sparrow Hospital and McLaren Greater Lansing, both in Lansing, are the county’s major health
care employers. Mason is home to Dart Container Corporation, the world’s largest maker of
foam cups and containers. The Lansing Lugnuts, a Class A minor league baseball team, play at
Jackson Field in downtown Lansing. The county’s biggest annual event is the East Lansing Art
Festival, held each May around MSU’s campus.

History

Michigan authorized Ingham County on 29 October 1829 and organized it as a functioning county
government in 1838, naming it for Samuel D. Ingham, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President
Andrew Jackson. Stockbridge Township, established in 1836, was the county’s first organized
township.

In 1847, worried that Detroit sat too close to the Canadian border to safely house the state
government, the Michigan Legislature moved the capital inland to what was then rural Lansing
Township — a choice widely mocked at the time as an insignificant backwoods settlement.
Lansing incorporated as a city in 1859. Ransom E. Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company
there in 1897, followed by the REO Motor Car Company in 1905, building Lansing into one of the
country’s early automobile manufacturing centers. Michigan remains the only state whose
capital city is not also its own county seat — Mason has held that role for Ingham County
since the 1877 settlement of the rivalry between the two towns.

Getting There

Interstate 96 crosses the county’s northern half through Lansing, with Interstate 496
looping through the city center. US-127 runs north-south through the county, and M-36, M-43, M-52
and M-99 provide the main state-highway connections to the smaller townships.

• Detroit — about 90 miles east
• Ann Arbor — about 60 miles southeast
• Jackson — about 35 miles south
• Flint — about 55 miles northeast

Capital Region International Airport, on Lansing’s north side, is the county’s
commercial airport. Mason Jewett Field serves general aviation south of Mason. Amtrak does not
currently stop in Ingham County; the nearest station is in East Lansing on the Blue Water route
between Chicago and Port Huron.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ingham County located?
It sits in Michigan’s south-central Lower Peninsula, bordered by Shiawassee, Livingston,
Washtenaw, Jackson, Eaton and Clinton counties, and contains the state capital, Lansing.

What is the population of Ingham County?
284,900 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 289,709.

How big is Ingham County?
561 square miles (1,450 km2) in total, of which 556 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Ingham County?
Mason is the county seat, even though Lansing, the state capital and largest city, sits inside
the county — Michigan is the only state where the capital isn’t also a county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Ingham County?
Five cities — Lansing (partly), East Lansing (partly), Mason, Williamston and Leslie
— three villages, Dansville, Stockbridge and Webberville, and four census-designated places:
Holt, Okemos, Haslett and Edgemont Park.

What ZIP codes does Ingham County use?
48854 for Mason, 48864 for Okemos, 48840 for Haslett, 48842 for Holt, 48895 for Williamston,
49251 for Leslie, 48892 for Webberville, 49285 for Stockbridge and 48819 for Dansville, plus
Lansing’s and East Lansing’s own large ZIP blocks.

What is Ingham County known for?
Michigan State University in East Lansing, and Lansing’s history as an early automobile
manufacturing hub through Ransom E. Olds’s Oldsmobile and REO plants.

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