Calhoun County is a county in Michigan, United States, in the south-central part of the state, roughly halfway between Chicago and Detroit along the I-94 corridor. It had a population of 134,310 at the 2020 census and covers 718 square miles (1,860 km2), of which 706 square miles are land, centred near 42°15′N 85°00′W.
Marshall is the county seat, and its postal code is 49068. The county has four cities, five villages and dozens of unincorporated communities, spread across 16 civil townships. It sits in the Eastern time zone and carries FIPS code 26025.
Towns & Villages in Calhoun County
Calhoun County’s largest incorporated places are its four cities — Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion and Springfield — followed by five villages: Athens, Burlington, Homer, Tekonsha and a small slice of Union City that crosses in from Branch County. The rest of the county is unincorporated territory: crossroads hamlets, lakeside communities and old rail sidings that never grew into towns. In the table below, “CDP” marks a census-designated place with its own population count; “Unincorp.” marks a named community with no separate census figure.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Creek | City | Bedford/Emmett/Pennfield areas | — | 49014, 49015, 49017, 49037 |
| Marshall | City · seat | Marshall | — | 49068 |
| Albion | City | Albion/Sheridan | — | 49224 |
| Springfield | City | Pennfield/Battle Creek areas | — | 49037 |
| Athens | Village | Athens | — | 49011 |
| Burlington | Village | Burlington | — | 49029 |
| Homer | Village | Homer | — | 49245 |
| Tekonsha | Village | Tekonsha | — | 49092 |
| Union City (part) | Village | Lee/Fredonia | — | — |
| Albion Landing | Unincorp. | Albion | — | 49224 |
| Babcock | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Beadle Lake | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Bedford | Unincorp. | Bedford | — | 49020 |
| Bentleys Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Brownlee Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Ceresco | Unincorp. | Eckford | — | 49033 |
| Charlotte Landing | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Clarence Center | Unincorp. | Clarence | — | — |
| Clarendon | Unincorp. | Clarendon | — | — |
| Condit | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Duck Lake | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| East Leroy | Unincorp. | Leroy | — | 49051 |
| Eckford | Unincorp. | Eckford | — | — |
| Greenfield Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Joppa | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lakeview | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lee Center | Unincorp. | Lee | — | — |
| Level Park-Oak Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Maplehurst | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Marengo | Unincorp. | Marengo | — | — |
| Old Mill Gardens | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Orchard Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Partello | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Pennfield | Unincorp. | Pennfield | — | — |
| Pine Creek | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Rice Creek | Unincorp. | Convis | — | — |
| Sonoma | Unincorp. | Newton | — | — |
| Springfield Place | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Stanley Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sunrise Heights | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Urbandale | Unincorp. | Sheridan | — | — |
| Verona | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Walnut Point | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wattles Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| West Leroy | Unincorp. | Leroy | — | — |
| Wrights Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Battle Creek and Springfield sit side by side and share a ZIP code (49037 falls partly in Springfield); a Battle Creek mailing address does not always mean a resident lives inside the Battle Creek city limits, since Bedford, Pennfield and Emmett townships all ring the city and use its post office. Union City’s village limits cross the Branch County line, so only its northern edge falls in Calhoun County’s Lee and Fredonia townships.
Townships
Calhoun County is organized into 16 civil townships. Township-level 2020 census population figures were not confirmed for this profile, so the table lists each township’s best-known settlement instead of a population.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Albion | — | Albion, Albion Landing |
| Athens | — | Athens |
| Burlington | — | Burlington |
| Clarence | — | Clarence Center |
| Clarendon | — | Clarendon |
| Convis | — | Rice Creek |
| Eckford | — | Eckford, Ceresco |
| Fredonia | — | — |
| Homer | — | Homer |
| Lee | — | Lee Center |
| Leroy | — | East Leroy, West Leroy |
| Marengo | — | Marengo |
| Marshall | — | Marshall (city, self-governing) |
| Newton | — | Sonoma |
| Pennfield | — | Pennfield |
| Sheridan | — | Urbandale |
| Tekonsha | — | Tekonsha |
ZIP Codes
- 49014 — Battle Creek
- 49015 — Battle Creek
- 49017 — Battle Creek
- 49037 — Battle Creek (also serves Springfield)
- 49068 — Marshall
- 49224 — Albion
- 49245 — Homer
- 49011 — Athens
- 49029 — Burlington
- 49033 — Ceresco
- 49051 — East Leroy
- 49092 — Tekonsha
- 49020 — Bedford (PO Box only)
Smaller unincorporated communities such as Marengo, Rice Creek and Wattles Park don’t have their own post office and use the ZIP code of the nearest incorporated town.
Geography
Calhoun County sits on the rolling till plains of south-central Michigan, drained by the Kalamazoo River, which flows west through Battle Creek and Marshall on its way to Lake Michigan, and by the St. Joseph River system in the county’s southern townships. Duck Lake and Beadle Lake are the largest of the county’s inland lakes, both popular for cottages and summer fishing.
Calhoun County borders Eaton County to the north, Barry County to the northwest, Kalamazoo County to the west, St. Joseph County to the southwest, Branch County to the south, Hillsdale County to the southeast and Jackson County to the east.
Demographics
Calhoun County had 134,310 residents at the 2020 census, giving it a density of roughly 190 people per square mile of land. Battle Creek is by far the largest community; the county’s other incorporated places — Marshall, Albion and Springfield — are all considerably smaller. Household income in the county has historically run below the Michigan median of $69,183, a legacy of the manufacturing job losses that hit Battle Creek and Albion in the late 20th century.
Economy & Local Life
Battle Creek is the county’s economic anchor and the longtime headquarters of the Kellogg Company, whose cereal plants gave the city its nickname “Cereal City”; the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is also based there. Battle Creek is additionally home to a large VA medical center and, historically, Fort Custer, now a state training center and industrial park. Albion is a small college town, built around Albion College, a liberal-arts college founded in 1835. Marshall’s downtown is a National Historic Landmark District, and its 19th-century architecture draws visitors for its annual home tour.
History
Calhoun County was organized on October 19, 1829, and named for John C. Calhoun, then Vice President of the United States. Formal county government began on March 6, 1833. In 2010, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured along the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, releasing more than a million gallons of diluted bitumen — one of the largest and costliest inland oil spills in U.S. history, and the multi-year cleanup that followed became a defining episode in the county’s recent history.
Getting There
Interstate 94 runs east-west through the county, linking Battle Creek and Marshall to Kalamazoo and Chicago to the west and Jackson and Detroit to the east; Interstate 69 crosses the county north-south near Marshall. US-12 and M-60 also pass through.
- Kalamazoo — about 20 miles west
- Jackson — about 35 miles east
- Lansing — about 45 miles northeast
- Grand Rapids — about 50 miles north
The nearest full-service commercial airport is Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, about 20 miles west in Kalamazoo County. Battle Creek’s own Amtrak station is served by the Blue Water line between Chicago and Port Huron.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Calhoun County, Michigan?
It sits in south-central Michigan along the I-94 corridor, roughly midway between Chicago and Detroit.
What is the population of Calhoun County?
134,310 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Calhoun County?
718 square miles (1,860 km2) in total, of which 706 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Calhoun County?
Marshall is the county seat.
How many towns are in Calhoun County?
Four cities (Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion, Springfield) and five villages (Athens, Burlington, Homer, Tekonsha and part of Union City), plus dozens of unincorporated communities across 16 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Calhoun County?
Battle Creek uses 49014, 49015, 49017 and 49037; other towns include Marshall (49068), Albion (49224) and Homer (49245).
What is Calhoun County known for?
Battle Creek’s Kellogg cereal industry and Marshall’s National Historic Landmark downtown district.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Michigan.