ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Eaton County, Michigan

FIPS 26045 · Lansing-East Lansing, MI · Population 109,130
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$79,597
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.7%
Unemployment
4% national
$7.4B
GDP
30.8%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$79,597
Per Capita
$41,090
Mean Household
$96,970
Poverty Rate
8.3%
Median Income Comparison
Eaton County$79,597
Michigan$72,875
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 20.1% (21,940 residents) 55-64: 13.9% (15,195 residents) 35-54: 24.6% (26,794 residents) 18-34: 20.9% (22,853 residents) Under 18: 20.5% (22,348 residents) 41 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.5%
18-34 · 20.9%
35-54 · 24.6%
55-64 · 13.9%
65+ · 20.1%
Race & Ethnicity
White81.2%
Black or African American6.9%
Asian2.2%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)6.3%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
94.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.6 pts
30.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 4.9 pts
10.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 3.9 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
109,130
Population
56,789
Labor Force
Employed
54,074
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.7% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.1%
Key Takeaways
  • Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, and education.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$7.4B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Eaton County, Michigan, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Manufacturing
8,337 23.7%
$83,387
2Retail Trade
5,658 16.1%
$35,709
3Finance and Insurance
4,899 13.9%
$86,199
4Transportation and Warehousing
4,858 13.8%
$52,769
5Accommodation and Food Services
3,605 10.3%
$23,008
6Health Care and Social Assistance
2,570 7.3%
$59,574
7Construction
1,624 4.6%
$79,548
8Other Services (except Public Administration)
1,610 4.6%
$62,284
9Administrative and Support and Waste Management
1,069 3.0%
$50,885
10Educational Services
938 2.7%
$42,227
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 8,337 workers (23.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $83,387.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $7.4B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $86,199 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,008, a 3.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
10.46x
5,311
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
5.74x
4,356
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
3.65x
651
Truck Transportation
3.05x
1,318
General Merchandise Retailers
2.16x
2,037
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.90x
793
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
1.72x
243
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
1.70x
163
Machinery Manufacturing
1.66x
528
1.53x
10,096

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
10,096
Cluster Employment
1.53x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
10.46x 5,311
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
5.74x 4,356
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
3.65x 651
Truck Transportation
3.05x 1,318
General Merchandise Retailers
2.16x 2,037
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.90x 793
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
1.72x 243
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
1.70x 163
Machinery Manufacturing
1.66x 528
1.53x 10,096

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.11x
Food Manufacturing
57 employed
0.17x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
56 employed
0.26x
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
86 employed
0.28x
Ambulatory Health Care Services
736 employed
0.37x
Chemical Manufacturing
97 employed
0.44x
Construction of Buildings
241 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing concentrates at 10.46x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Eaton County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$216,900
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,092
Rent/Mo
74.2%
Owner-Occ
4.9%
Vacancy
2.7x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$973/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,012/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,268/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,627/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,679/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,990/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.7x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • High home ownership: 74.2% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
  • Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,990/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
64,842
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.6%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 65.4% of working-age population (18-64) 65% Participation
▲ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
30.8%
HS Diploma+
94.2%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
52,294/yr
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 15,687/yr
Michigan State University 13,090/yr
Wayne State University 7,003/yr
Grand Valley State University 6,722/yr
Western Michigan University 5,086/yr
Oakland University 4,706/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
23.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
38.3%
Service
15.5%
Sales & Office
20.7%
Construction / Maint.
7.8%
Production / Transport
17.6%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 54,074 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Succession risk is real: 23.4% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 35,780 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Eaton County shows strong potential for transportation equipment manufacturing attraction, with a 10.46x concentration and 5,311 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.4% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across transportation equipment manufacturing, insurance carriers and related activities, and miscellaneous manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Eaton County, Michigan, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Eaton County, Michigan?

109,130 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Eaton County, Michigan?

$79,597 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Eaton County, Michigan?

4.7% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Eaton County, Michigan?

$7.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).