Montcalm County, Michigan

Montcalm County is a county in Michigan, United States, about 35 miles northeast of Grand
Rapids. It had a population of 66,614 at the 2020 census, an estimated 69,406 by 2025, and
covers 721 square miles (1,870 km2) centred near 43°19′N 85°09′W.

Stanton is the county seat, and Greenville is the county’s largest city; its postal code is 48888.
The county holds 3 cities, 6 incorporated villages and 15 unincorporated communities across 20
townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 26117.

Towns & Villages in Montcalm County

Montcalm County has 24 named places on record: 3 cities, 6 incorporated villages (labelled
“Town” below) and 15 unincorporated communities with no local government of their
own.

Two entries on the county’s old settlement list were duplicates — Crystal and
Trufant each appeared twice under different township headings. Trufant sits entirely in Maple
Valley Township, not split across a county line. Howard City is mostly in Reynolds Township, but
a small part of the village extends south into Pierson Township, and Sheridan and the city of
Stanton each sit at a four-township corner (Sheridan touches Evergreen, Bushnell, Fairplain and
Sidney; Stanton touches Day, Evergreen, Sidney and Douglass) — the table above lists one
township per place for consistency.

Townships

Montcalm County has 20 civil townships. The ten largest by population:

ZIP Codes

• 48888 — Stanton, the county seat
• 48838 — Greenville
• 48811 — Carson City
• 49329 — Howard City
• 48829 — Edmore
• 48850 — Lakeview
• 48884 — Sheridan
• 49339 — Pierson
• 48852 — McBride
• 49347 — Trufant
• 48886 — Six Lakes (also serves most of Belvidere Township)
• 48891 — Vestaburg (also serves most of Richland Township)
• 49326 — Gowen
• 49322 — Coral (also serves northern Maple Valley Township)

Amble, Cedar Lake, Conger, Crystal, Entrican, Fenwick, Langston, Sidney, Westville and Wyman
have no ZIP code of their own; mail to these small unincorporated communities is delivered under
a neighboring town’s code.

Geography

Montcalm County sits in West Michigan, in the Lower Peninsula, and forms part of the Grand
Rapids-Kentwood metropolitan area. Of its 721 square miles, 705 are land and 15 are water, about
2.1 percent — the county has no large natural lake of its own, though Crystal Lake in
Crystal Township is a local recreation hub. The Flat River runs through the county, past Gowen
and through Greenville, on its way south to join the Grand River.

Isabella County lies to the northeast, Mecosta County to the north, Gratiot County to the
east, Newaygo County to the west, Ionia County to the south, Kent County to the southwest and
Clinton County to the southeast. Isabella
County, Mecosta County, Gratiot County, Newaygo County, Ionia County, Kent County and Clinton County all border
Montcalm directly.

Demographics

Montcalm County had a population of 66,614 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 69,406 residents by 2025. Greenville and Howard City are the two largest
communities. Median household income runs $67,344 (2024 ACS), below Michigan’s statewide
figure of $69,183 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 94 people per square mile
of land, well below the state average, reflecting the county’s mostly rural character
outside Greenville.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 6,646 people, followed by retail
trade at 3,905 and health care and social assistance at 3,646. Greenville was once known as the
Refrigerator Capital of the World after the Ranney Refrigerator Company set up there in 1892;
Gibson, Frigidaire and Electrolux ran the same plant in turn until Electrolux closed it in 2006.
Northland Marvel, an undercounter-refrigeration manufacturer, now operates a manufacturing center
in the city. Montcalm Community College, headquartered near Sidney, serves the county with a
second campus in Greenville. The county’s biggest annual event is the Danish Festival,
held in Greenville every year on the third weekend of August in honor of the many Danish settlers
who arrived after the city’s founding; the Montcalm County 4-H Fair follows later in the
summer with livestock competitions and tractor pulls.

History

Michigan’s territorial legislature set off Montcalm County in 1831 and organized it as a
county government in 1850. It is named for General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, the French commander
who led French forces in North America during the French and Indian War. John Green founded
Greenville in 1844, building a sawmill on the Flat River; the settlement that grew up around it
drew many Danish immigrants, and Hendrik Meijer opened his first grocery store there in 1934,
the start of the Meijer supercenter chain.

Stanton was renamed in 1863 to honor Edwin M. Stanton, the Union’s Secretary of War
during the Civil War; at the 2000 census, 46.9 percent of the town identified as Finnish, the
highest share of any populated place in the United States. During the Second World War, local
Greenville schoolchildren raised money to buy a training glider, the Fighting Falcon, which was
designated the lead aircraft for the Allied glider force in Operation Overlord, the June 1944
Normandy invasion.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Montcalm County; the nearest, I-96, runs well to the south
through Ionia County. US 131 runs north-south through the county, and M-46, M-57, M-66, M-82 and
M-91 also cross it.

• Grand Rapids — about 35 miles southwest
• Mount Pleasant — about 40 miles northeast
• Alma — about 25 miles east
• Lansing — about 55 miles southeast

Gerald R. Ford International Airport, in Grand Rapids about 40 miles southwest of Stanton, is
the nearest major commercial airport. Amtrak’s Grand Rapids station, on the Pere Marquette
line to Chicago, is the closest passenger rail stop, also about 40 miles southwest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Montcalm County located?
It sits in West Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, about 35 miles northeast of Grand Rapids,
bordered by Isabella, Mecosta, Gratiot, Newaygo, Ionia, Kent and Clinton counties.

What is the population of Montcalm County?
66,614 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 69,406 by 2025.

How big is Montcalm County?
721 square miles (1,870 km2), of which 705 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Montcalm County?
Stanton is the county seat; Greenville, about 17 miles southwest, is the largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Montcalm County?
Three cities — Stanton, Greenville and Carson City — plus six incorporated villages
(Edmore, Howard City, Lakeview, McBride, Pierson and Sheridan) and 15 unincorporated
communities.

What ZIP codes does Montcalm County use?
48888 for Stanton, 48838 for Greenville, 48811 for Carson City, and separate codes for each
village, including 49329 for Howard City and 48829 for Edmore.

What is Montcalm County known for?
Greenville’s Danish Festival and its history as the Refrigerator Capital of the World, and
as the birthplace of the Meijer supercenter chain in 1934.

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