Lenawee County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the Ohio state line at the southeastern corner of the Lower Peninsula. It had a population of 99,423 at the 2020 census and covers 761 square miles (1,970 km2) — 750 square miles (1,900 km2) of land and 12 square miles (31 km2) of water — centred near 41°53′N 84°04′W.
Adrian is the county seat, and its postal code is 49221. The county holds four cities, eight villages, two census-designated places, and 22 townships (19 civil and three charter: Adrian, Madison, and Raisin). It sits in the Eastern Time zone.
Towns & Villages in Lenawee County
Lenawee County’s incorporated places range from Adrian, its largest city, down to villages of a few hundred residents strung along the Raisin River and its tributaries. The table below marks cities and villages by their official status; CDP denotes an unincorporated census-designated place, and Unincorp. marks a smaller crossroads community with no municipal government of its own.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian | City · seat | Adrian Charter Township | 20,645 | 49221 |
| Tecumseh | City | Tecumseh Township | — | 49286 |
| Hudson | City | Hudson Township | — | 49247 |
| Morenci | City | Fairfield Township | — | 49256 |
| Blissfield | Village | Blissfield Township | 3,277 | 49228 |
| Clinton | Village | Clinton Township | — | 49236 |
| Onsted | Village | Cambridge Township | — | 49265 |
| Deerfield | Village | Deerfield Township | — | 49238 |
| Addison | Village | Woodstock Township | 573 | 49220 |
| Britton | Village | Riga Township | 537 | 49229 |
| Clayton | Village | Fairfield Township | — | 49235 |
| Cement City | Village | Woodstock Township | — | 49233 |
| Jasper | CDP | Seneca Township | — | — |
| Manitou Beach–Devils Lake | CDP | Cambridge Township | — | — |
| Cambridge Junction | Unincorp. | Cambridge Township | — | — |
| Cadmus | Unincorp. | Seneca Township | — | — |
| Macon | Unincorp. | Macon Township | — | 49232 |
| Medina | Unincorp. | Medina Township | — | — |
| Ogden | Unincorp. | Ogden Township | — | — |
| Palmyra | Unincorp. | Palmyra Township | — | 49268 |
| Raisin Center | Unincorp. | Raisin Charter Township | — | — |
Cement City straddles the Lenawee–Jackson county line; the portion covered here is its Lenawee (Woodstock Township) half. Manitou Beach and Devils Lake are two adjoining lakeside resort communities in Cambridge Township that the Census Bureau counts together as a single CDP.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian Charter Township | — | Adrian (surrounds the city) |
| Raisin Charter Township | — | Raisin Center, Lenawee Junction |
| Tecumseh Township | — | Tecumseh |
| Cambridge Township | — | Onsted, Cambridge Junction, Manitou Beach–Devils Lake |
| Blissfield Township | — | Blissfield |
| Madison Charter Township | — | southern Adrian suburbs |
| Hudson Township | — | Hudson |
| Fairfield Township | — | Morenci, Clayton, Jasper |
| Clinton Township | — | Clinton |
| Deerfield Township | — | Deerfield |
| Woodstock Township | — | Addison, Cement City (partial) |
| Riga Township | — | Britton |
| Macon Township | — | Macon |
| Palmyra Township | — | Palmyra |
| Ogden Township | — | Ogden |
| Medina Township | — | Medina |
| Rome Township | — | rural, no platted village |
| Rollin Township | — | rural, no platted village |
| Seneca Township | — | Cadmus |
| Ridgeway Township | — | rural, no platted village |
| Franklin Township | — | rural, no platted village |
| Dover Township | — | rural, no platted village |
2020 census figures at the individual township level are not independently verified here and are omitted rather than estimated; the county total of 99,423 above is the confirmed 2020 census figure.
ZIP Codes
- 49221 — Adrian (also serves Adrian Charter Township and Madison Charter Township)
- 49228 — Blissfield
- 49229 — Britton
- 49220 — Addison
- 49233 — Cement City
- 49235 — Clayton
- 49236 — Clinton
- 49238 — Deerfield
- 49247 — Hudson
- 49232 — Macon
- 49256 — Morenci
- 49265 — Onsted (also serves Cambridge Junction and Manitou Beach–Devils Lake)
- 49268 — Palmyra
- 49286 — Tecumseh
A handful of smaller unincorporated places — Cadmus, Medina, Ogden, and Raisin Center — sit inside a neighbouring town’s ZIP delivery area rather than carrying one of their own.
Geography
Lenawee County lies in the glaciated till plains of southeastern Michigan, drained by the River Raisin, which flows east across the county toward Lake Erie. The terrain is gently rolling farmland broken by a chain of small kettle lakes around Manitou Beach and Devils Lake in the county’s northwest corner. Of the county’s 761 square miles, 12 square miles are water.
Lenawee County borders Jackson County and Washtenaw County to the north, Monroe County to the east, Lucas County and Fulton County, Ohio, to the south, and Hillsdale County to the west.
Demographics
Lenawee County’s population stood at 99,423 at the 2020 census, giving it a density of roughly 133 people per square mile of land. Adrian, with 20,645 residents, is by far the largest place; Tecumseh is the second-largest city. Median household income in the county runs modestly below the Michigan state median of $69,183, reflecting a mix of small-city, small-town, and farm incomes across its 22 townships.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture — corn, soybeans, wheat, and dairy — remains a major land use across the county’s townships, alongside manufacturing tied to the automotive supply chain in and around Adrian and Tecumseh. Adrian is also a college town, home to Adrian College and Siena Heights University, both of which anchor the city’s economy and calendar of local events. The Lenawee County Fair, held in Adrian each summer, is the county’s largest annual gathering.
History
Lenawee County was created in 1822 out of territory carved from Monroe County, with its county government organized in 1826. The name is a neologism coined by explorer and Indian agent Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, believed to derive from either the Lenape word for “male” or the Shawnee word “lenawai.” The county’s earlier Native inhabitants included Potawatomi, Ottawa, Chippewa, and other Great Lakes peoples, whose presence predates the county’s formal organization by generations.
Getting There
US-223 runs east–west through Adrian and connects to Ohio’s Toledo-area highway network; M-50 and M-52 cross the county’s northern townships toward Jackson and Chelsea.
- Toledo, Ohio — 30 miles south
- Ann Arbor — 35 miles northeast
- Jackson — 25 miles north
- Detroit — 70 miles northeast
The nearest commercial airport is Toledo Express Airport in Ohio; Detroit Metropolitan Airport, roughly 70 miles northeast, offers a much larger schedule of flights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Lenawee County?
It is in southeastern Michigan, on the Ohio state line, roughly 30 miles north of Toledo and 70 miles southwest of Detroit.
What is the population of Lenawee County?
99,423 at the 2020 census.
How big is Lenawee County?
761 square miles (1,970 km2), of which 750 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Lenawee County?
Adrian is the county seat.
How many towns are in Lenawee County?
Four cities and eight villages, plus two census-designated places and several unincorporated crossroads communities spread across 22 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Lenawee County?
Fourteen ZIP codes serve the county, from 49220 (Addison) to 49286 (Tecumseh); see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.
What lakes are in Lenawee County?
Devils Lake and the smaller lakes around Manitou Beach, in Cambridge Township, form the county’s main lake district and a longstanding summer-cottage community.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Michigan.