Ottawa County, Michigan

Ottawa County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the Lake Michigan shore about 30 miles
west of Grand Rapids. It had a population of 296,200 at the 2020 census, an estimated 308,459 by
2025, and covers 563 square miles of land (1,458 km2) centred near 42°55′N 86°14′W.

Grand Haven is the county seat; its postal code is 49417. The county holds 6 cities, 1 village
and 17 townships, and it runs on Eastern Time. Holland, shared with neighboring Allegan County, is
the county’s largest city.

Towns & Villages in Ottawa County

Ottawa County has 6 incorporated cities and 1 incorporated village on record, plus 17 townships
that carry most of the county’s land area and several large unincorporated communities. CDP
stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no
formal boundary of their own.

Beechwood and Macatawa sit inside Park Township on the Lake Macatawa shore and are easy to
confuse with the city of Holland, which they border directly; both use Holland-area ZIPs but are
not part of the city. Lamont straddles Tallmadge and Polkton townships along the Grand River, and
Marne, formerly named Berlin, sits on the Tallmadge–Wright township line — both are
counted once here under their historic center.

ZIP Codes

• 49423 — Holland (also serves Drenthe and part of Olive Township)
• 49424 — Holland/Beechwood (also serves Macatawa and New Holland)
• 49417 — Grand Haven (also serves Agnew and Robinson)
• 49426 — Hudsonville (also serves Borculo)
• 49464 — Zeeland (also serves Vriesland and Bauer)
• 49404 — Coopersville (also serves Grand Valley)
• 49409 — Ferrysburg
• 49456 — Spring Lake
• 49428/49429 — Jenison
• 49448 — Nunica
• 49435 — Marne
• 49430 — Lamont
• 49460 — West Olive
• 49403 — Conklin
• 49401 — North Blendon (Allendale-area code)

North Blendon and several of the smallest crossroads communities have no ZIP of their own; mail
there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Townships

The 17 townships, sorted by population, hold most of the county’s land and the bulk of its
residents outside the incorporated cities.

Geography

Ottawa County sits in West Michigan along the Lake Michigan shore, with roughly 24 miles of
Lake Michigan waterfront in its western townships. The county totals 1,631 square miles including
Lake Michigan water, but its land area is 563 square miles; the Grand River cuts across the
northern part of the county on its way to the lake at Grand Haven, and Lake Macatawa, a
drowned-river-mouth lake, sits behind Holland and Park Township.

Muskegon County lies to the north, Kent County to the east, and Allegan County to the south.
Muskegon County,
Kent County and
Allegan County all border Ottawa
directly; Lake Michigan forms the entire western boundary.

Demographics

Ottawa County had a population of 296,200 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 308,459 residents, among the fastest-growing counties in Michigan. Holland and Grand
Haven are the two largest cities, though Georgetown Township alone outnumbers either with 54,091
residents. Michigan’s statewide median household income was $69,183 in the 2023 ACS; Ottawa
County’s own figure runs above that mark, among the higher county incomes in West Michigan.
Population density works out to roughly 526 people per
square mile of land, dense for West Michigan outside Kent County, reflecting the county’s
place inside the Grand Rapids–Kentwood metropolitan area.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing anchors the county’s economy, led by office-furniture makers Herman Miller
and Haworth, both headquartered in the Zeeland–Holland area, alongside automotive-seating
maker Adient and battery makers Johnson Controls and LG Chem. Kraft Heinz runs a major food plant
in Holland. Grand Haven’s harbor handles limestone, slag, cement, coal and sand shipments on
the Great Lakes, and beach tourism drives seasonal business along the entire lakeshore. Farming
remains significant in the county’s eastern and northern townships, producing well over
$700 million in agricultural output a year. The county’s biggest annual event is
Holland’s Tulip Time Festival each May, when six million tulips bloom around the city and
roughly a million visitors attend Dutch-heritage events across nine days.

History

Michigan’s territorial legislature authorized Ottawa County in 1831 and organized it in
1837, naming it for the Ottawa (Odawa) people who lived along the Grand River and Lake Michigan
shore. William Montague Ferry became the area’s first permanent American settler in 1834,
founding what became Grand Haven. In 1847 a Dutch Reformed congregation led by the Reverend
Albertus van Raalte arrived from the Netherlands and founded Holland, part of a wider wave of
Dutch immigration that also settled Zeeland, Drenthe, Vriesland and Noordeloos — villages
named for Dutch provinces and towns their founders had left behind. That heritage still shapes the
county’s largest festival and much of its family business ownership today.

Getting There

Interstate 96 crosses the county’s northeast corner through Coopersville and Marne, and
Interstate 196 runs along the Lake Michigan shore through Holland and Zeeland township before
continuing to Grand Rapids. US 31 runs north–south through Grand Haven and Holland, and M-45,
M-11, M-104, M-121 and M-231 fill in the rest of the county road network.

• Grand Rapids — about 30 miles east
• Muskegon — about 15 miles north
• Kalamazoo — about 45 miles southeast
• Grand Haven to Holland — about 15 miles south along US 31

Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, about 30 miles east of Holland, is the
nearest major commercial airport. Ottawa Executive Airport in Zeeland Township handles general
aviation. Amtrak’s Pere Marquette train stops at Holland’s station on the
Chicago–Grand Rapids route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ottawa County located?
It sits on Michigan’s Lake Michigan shore in the western Lower Peninsula, about 30 miles
west of Grand Rapids, bordered by Muskegon, Kent and Allegan counties.

What is the population of Ottawa County?
296,200 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 308,459.

How big is Ottawa County?
563 square miles of land (1,458 km2), plus Lake Michigan waters that bring its total area to
1,631 square miles.

What is the county seat of Ottawa County?
Grand Haven is the county seat, though Holland is the county’s largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Ottawa County?
Six cities — Holland, Grand Haven, Hudsonville, Zeeland, Coopersville and Ferrysburg
— one village, Spring Lake, and 17 townships covering the rest of the county.

What ZIP codes does Ottawa County use?
49423 and 49424 for Holland; 49417 for Grand Haven; 49426 for Hudsonville; 49464 for Zeeland;
49404 for Coopersville; and 49409 for Ferrysburg, among others listed above.

What is Ottawa County known for?
Its Dutch American heritage, Holland’s Tulip Time Festival each May, and office-furniture
manufacturers Herman Miller and Haworth, both founded in the county.

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