Mackinac County, Michigan

Mackinac County is a county in Michigan, United States, occupying the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula on the north shore of the Straits of Mackinac. It had a population of 10,834 at the 2020 census and covers 2,101 square miles (5,440 km2), of which 1,022 square miles are land and 1,079 square miles are water — more than half the county is Great Lakes water — centred near 46°01′N 85°01′W.

St. Ignace is the county seat, and its postal code is 49781. The county has 2 incorporated cities (St. Ignace and Mackinac Island), no incorporated villages, and 11 active civil townships, plus a scatter of small unincorporated communities. Mackinac County sits in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Mackinac County

Mackinac County has just two incorporated cities — St. Ignace on the mainland and Mackinac Island, reached only by ferry or small plane — and no incorporated villages. Everything else below is an unincorporated community or a census-designated place (CDP), most clustered along US-2, M-134, or the Lake Huron shoreline of the Les Cheneaux Islands.

Bois Blanc Island (locally “Bob-Lo”), reached by ferry from Cheboygan, is entirely within Bois Blanc Township and has no year-round incorporated place, only the small settlement of Pointe Aux Pins. Fort Mackinac and Fort Holmes are historic military sites on Mackinac Island rather than separate settlements, and are omitted from the table above as landmarks, not towns.

Townships

Mackinac County has 11 active civil townships (a twelfth, Holmes Township, was dissolved). Detailed 2020 township-level population figures were not independently verified for this page and are omitted rather than estimated; see Demographics below for the county total.

ZIP Codes

• 49781 — St. Ignace (also serves Gros Cap and the mainland ferry docks)
• 49757 — Mackinac Island (a Post Office Box-only ZIP; there is no street delivery on the island)
• 49719 — Cedarville
• 49745 — Hessel
• 49827 — Engadine
• 49820 — Curtis
• 49762 — Naubinway
• 49760 — Moran
• 49838 — Gould City
• 49775 — Pointe Aux Pins

Smaller unincorporated places such as Brevort, Epoufette, and Rexton use the ZIP code of the nearest post office town rather than a code of their own.

Geography

Mackinac County spans the far eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, bounded on the south by the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Huron and on the north by forest and wetland extending toward Lake Superior country. More than half the county’s area is open water, including the Les Cheneaux (“the Snows”) archipelago off Cedarville and Hessel, Mackinac Island in the Straits, and Bois Blanc Island to the east. The mainland is largely state and national forest — Hiawatha National Forest covers much of the western half — with limestone bluffs along the Lake Huron shore and dune and swamp country toward Lake Michigan on the west side near Naubinway.

By land, Mackinac County borders Chippewa County to the northeast, Luce County to the northwest, and Schoolcraft County to the west. Across the water, the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Huron separate it from Emmet County, Cheboygan County, and Presque Isle County to the south, all in the Lower Peninsula and reached from St. Ignace via the Mackinac Bridge.

Demographics

Mackinac County had 10,834 residents at the 2020 census, giving a density of roughly 10.6 people per square mile of land — among the lowest in Michigan, reflecting how much of the county is water and forest. St. Ignace, the county seat, is the largest community; Mackinac Island, whose year-round population is a fraction of its summer tourist crowds, is the second incorporated place. Median household income runs well below the Michigan median of $69,183, typical for a Upper Peninsula tourism-and-forestry county with a large seasonal workforce.

Economy & Local Life

Tourism anchors the county’s economy: Mackinac Island’s car-free streets, the Grand Hotel, and its fudge shops draw ferry traffic from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City all summer, run by carriers including Star Line and Shepler’s. St. Ignace itself hosts a Kewadin Casino operated by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a major local employer alongside the school district and county government. The Les Cheneaux Islands around Cedarville and Hessel are known for wooden boat building and host an annual Antique Wooden Boat Show each August. Commercial and sport fishing on Lakes Michigan and Huron, forestry within Hiawatha National Forest, and snowmobile tourism in winter round out the local economy.

History

The county was created October 26, 1818 as Michilimackinac County, one of the first counties organized in the Michigan Territory, and took its present name and boundaries as it was reorganized through the 19th century, finally being fully organized for local government in 1849. Its name comes from the Straits of Mackinac, itself derived from an Ojibwe word for the area. The Straits were a center of the fur trade under French and then British control through the 18th century, with Fort Michilimackinac and later Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island serving as military and trading posts; the British seized Fort Mackinac in a surprise attack in 1812 and held it until the war’s end. The county’s modern shape was set by the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957, which linked St. Ignace to the Lower Peninsula and made the county a year-round highway gateway rather than a seasonal ferry stop.

Getting There

Interstate 75 crosses the Straits of Mackinac on the Mackinac Bridge and runs north through St. Ignace toward Sault Ste. Marie; US-2 runs west along the Lake Michigan shore toward Naubinway and Wisconsin, and M-123 loops north to Paradise and Whitefish Point.

• St. Ignace — at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge
• Sault Ste. Marie — about 50 miles northeast via I-75
• Mackinaw City — about 5 miles south across the Straits
• Manistique — about 55 miles west via US-2

The nearest commercial airport is Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) in Emmet County, about 20 miles south across the bridge; Chippewa County International Airport near Sault Ste. Marie is a similar distance northeast. No Amtrak service reaches Mackinac County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Mackinac County, Michigan?
It occupies the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on the north side of the Straits of Mackinac, reached by the Mackinac Bridge from the Lower Peninsula.

What is the population of Mackinac County?
10,834 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Mackinac County?
2,101 square miles (5,440 km2) total, of which 1,022 square miles are land; the rest is Great Lakes water.

What is the county seat of Mackinac County?
St. Ignace is the county seat.

How many towns are in Mackinac County?
Two incorporated cities — St. Ignace and Mackinac Island — plus about a dozen smaller unincorporated communities spread across 11 townships.

What ZIP codes are in Mackinac County?
Ten ZIP codes serve the county, led by 49781 (St. Ignace) and including 49757 for Mackinac Island, a PO Box-only ZIP with no street delivery.

Is Mackinac Island a separate place from Mackinac County?
Mackinac Island is a city within Mackinac County; it bans motor vehicles and is reached only by ferry or small aircraft.

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