COUNTY PROFILE - MASON, Michigan
LOCATION SERVICES
Mason County EDC
5827 West U.S. 10
Ludington, Michigan 49431-2498
Contact: Bill Kratz
Phone: 616/845-6646
FAX: 616/845-6857
County Seat: Ludington
POPULATION
1970 Census 22612
1980 Census 26365
1990 Census 25537
Median Age (as of 1990) 36.2 years
LABOR FORCE
(1992 average)
Total Labor Force 12700
Employed 11150
Total Unemployment 1550
Unemployment Rate 12.2%
3-Year Average 10.6%
PRINCIPAL ECONOMIC BASE EMPLOYERS
Firm Employees Product/Service
Memorial Medical Center 370 Health services
Dow Chemical, Ludington 322 Industrial chemicals
Pandrol-Jackson, Ludington 315 Railroad maintenance equipment
Great Lakes Casting, Ludington 217 Grey iron castings
Mason County Fruit Packers Co-Op 205 Fresh & processed fruit
Metalworks, Ludington 160 Fabricated metal, elec. encl.
Straits Steel & Wire 160 Wire products
Whitehall Industries, Ludington 152 Photographic equip. & supplies
West Shore Comm. Coll., Scottville 148 Higher education
Floracraft, Ludington 142 Styrofoam, extruded foam
EnSight, Ludington 125 Lab., envir. consulting firm
Harbison & Walker Refractories 98 Non-clay refractories
Amerastar 85 Tool and security boxes
Ludington Daily News, Ludington 85 Regional newspaper
Carrom, Ludington 64 Games, toys, & furniture
West Michigan Wire, Ludington 62 Wire products
LDI 60 Auto parts
McCormick Sawmill, Fountain 52 General sawmills
House of Flavors, Ludington 47 Ice cream
Harrington Tool, Ludington 43 Special tools
Brill Mfg., Ludington 20 Pine furniture
EARNING LEVELS
Average Hourly Rate
Classification Minimum Maximum
Assembler - Light $5.07 $8.39
Drafter $8.16 $10.91
Forklift Operator $6.53 $8.54
General Laborer $5.76 $7.79
Inspector $7.70 $9.84
Machine Operator $6.88 $9.92
Machinist $8.32 $11.21
Maintenance, Building $7.31 $9.54
Receptionist $5.05 $6.79
Welder $8.39 $10.97
Source: Based on Michigan Bell Retention Study, adjusted for inflation to
1991 using Consumer Price Index.
DISTANCE TO:
Miles Kilometers
Chicago 240 386
Cleveland 400 643
Detroit 230 370
Indianapolis 350 563
Lansing 160 257
Toronto 430 691
TRANSPORTATION
Main Highways: M-116, US-10, US-31
Bus Lines: Mason County Dial-A-Ride
Truck Lines: 6
Rail Lines: CSX Railroad
Ports: Lake Michigan carferry service to Manitowoc, WI
Airports: Mason County
Airlines: Great Lakes Airlines (Manistee Blacker Airport)
CLIMATE
As reported by weather station at Ludington.
January Average Minimum: 16 F./ -9 C. Average Maximum: 29 F./ -2 C.
July Average Minimum: 58 F./ 14 C. Average Maximum: 80 F./ 27 C.
Growing Season: 139 days
Days below 0 F or -18 C: 6 Average Annual Rainfall: 32 in./ 81 cm.
Days above 90 F or 32 C: 4 Average Annual Snowfall: 83 in./211 cm.
INDUSTRIAL SITES
(As of January 1993)
Community Sites Acres Hectares Industrial Parks
Ludington 5 16 6 1
Pere Marquette Twp. 12 88 36 1
Scottville 2 27 11 0
COUNTY TOTAL 19 131 53 2
Zero acres indicates less than half an acre or no information available.
CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Residential Industrial Office Mercantile
Units Value Units Value Units Value Units Value
1991: 124 $8.99 1 $0.11 3 $0.30 10 $0.76
3-Year Average: 113 $7.05 5 $0.61 3 $0.28 8 $3.53
Values are reported in millions of dollars. A 3-year average value of 1 may
indicate no construction activity in one or more of the last three years.
NEW INCORPORATIONS
Incorporations in 1992: 41 State Median: 68
Incorporation Rate: 161 State Median: 183
Incorporation Rate = incorporations per 100,000 population.
PROPERTY TAX BASE
(As of 1992)
Agricultural Residential Industrial Commercial Other
4% 40% 39% 7% 9%
County Total State Equalized Value: $680,379,235.00
County Average Tax Millage Rate (in 1991): 41.53
UTILITIES
Electric Gas Telephone*
Ludington Consumers MichCon GTE, D
Pere Marquette W. MI/Consumers MichCon GTE
Scottville Consumers MichCon Michigan Bell, D,EA
* D=digital switching; EA=equal access to interexchange carriers;
see Source List note.
WATER
Gallons Liters Pressure
Source Capacity Use Capacity Use (lbs./sq.in.)
Ludington Lake 80 42 303 159 55-70
Pere Marquette Lake
Scottville Lake 80 7 303 26 52-60
Capacity and maximum use in hundreds of thousands of gallons/liters per day.
SEWER
Gallons Liters
Type Capacity Load Capacity Load
Ludington Secondary 75 25 284 95
Pere Marquette
Scottville Lagoons
Capacity and present load in hundreds of thousands of gallons/liters per day.
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
1990 Master Public Library
Community Phone Number Population Zoning Plan (Volumes)
Ludington 616-845-6237 8507 yes yes 36,689
Pere Marquette 616-845-1277 2065 yes yes
Scottville 616-757-4729 1287 yes yes 28,458
------- Fire Department ------- Police
Community Class. FT Paid PT/Volunt. (Full-Time) Solid Waste
Ludington 6 21 14 Independent
Pere Marquette 8/9 20
Scottville 7 3 Independent
County Sheriff Officers: 29 Licensed Landfills in County: 0
Other communities in Mason County (1990 population for incorporated communities
in parenthesis):
Amber Twp. (1684), Branch Twp. (973), Custer (312), Custer Twp. (1176), Eden
Twp. (491), Fountain (165), Freesoil (148), Freesoil Twp. (860), Grant Twp.
(749), Hamlin Lake, Hamlin Twp. (2597), Logan Twp. (203), Meade Twp. (142),
Riverton Twp. (1115), Sheridan Twp. (837), Sherman Twp. (952), Summit Twp.
(815), Tallman, Victory Twp. (1084), Walhalla
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES (1992-1993)
K-12 Instruc. High
Community School District Students Staff Schools
Ludington Ludington Area 2610 123 1
Scottville Mason County Central 1501 60 1
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
(As of Fall 1991)
Name and Location Enrollment
Ferris State University, Big Rapids (65 mi.) 12422
West Shore Community College, Scottville 1326
MEDICAL FACILITIES
Hospitals in County: 1 Total Beds: 85
Nearest Large Medical Center: Muskegon (55 miles)
Extended Care Facilities: 2 Total Beds: 202
Physicians (MDs and DOs) in County: 31
HOUSING AND CHURCHES
(Housing as of 1990)
Owner occupied: 7576 (75.9%) Median Home Value: $43,300.00
Renter occupied: 2408 (24.1%) Median Contract Rent: $243.00
Churches: Catholic: 3 Protestant: 25
Synagogues: 0 Nearest synagogue is in Muskegon (58 miles)
RECREATION, ATTRACTIONS, AND EVENTS
Recreational harbor facilities at Ludington on Lake Michigan; Ludington
State Park; 2 groomed, rated cross-country trails; White Pine Village; Rose
Hawley Museum, Ludington; West Shore Community College. In Ludington:
Freedom Festival (July); Gold Coast Festival (Aug.); West Michigan Fair
(Aug.); Autumn Festival (October). Winter Fun Fest (Feb.); Carferry
Festival (May); Lakestride Half-Marathon (June); Gus Macker 3-on-3 Charity
Basketball Tournament (July); Scottville Harvest Festival (Sept.)
COMMERCIAL SERVICES
(As of 1989)
General Building Contractors 8
Metalworking Machinery 3
Commercial Printing 3
Advertising 0
Personnel Supply Services 0
Computer and Data Processing Services 2
Legal Services 17
Accounting, Auditing and Bookkeeping 5
Retail Establishments 209
Wholesale Establishments 28
Hotel/Motel Rooms (as of 1992): 942
Television Channels: 3 w/antenna, 35 w/cable
Radio Stations: 3
Newspapers: Ludington Daily News, Muskegon Chronicle
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
(As of 1993) Offices
Main Office in County
First of America Bank-West Michigan Grand Rapids 3
Northwestern Savings Bank & Trust Traverse City 1
Old Kent Bank of Ludington Ludington 2
State Savings Bank of Scottville Scottville 4
EMPLOYMENT AND EARNINGS BY INDUSTRY
Earnings
Employment ($ millions)
1985 1990 1985 1990
Total Employment 10380 11563
Total Income $269.44 $369.16
Earnings by Place of Work $160.67 $227.72
Components by Type:
Wage and Salary 7876 8879 $125.60 $176.29
Proprietors 2504 2684 $21.62 $33.28
Farm 556 480 $3.84 $7.52
Nonfarm 1948 2204 $17.78 $25.76
Components by Industry:
Farm 730 618 $5.46 $9.23
Nonfarm 9650 10945 $155.21 $218.49
Private 8107 9282 $127.26 $180.15
Agric./For./Fish. 79 123 $0.81 $1.03
Mining 12 35 $0.63 $1.47
Construction 460 658 $10.44 $16.25
Manufacturing 2310 2455 $54.21 $72.69
Non-Durable Goods --- --- $24.40 $29.26
Durable Goods --- --- $29.81 $43.42
Transp. & Utilities 481 445 $14.16 $16.33
Wholesale Trade 245 204 $4.91 $5.32
Retail Trade 1696 1984 $14.36 $20.92
Fin./Ins./Real Est. 604 659 $3.47 $4.20
Services 2220 2719 $24.27 $41.94
Government 1543 1663 $27.95 $38.34
Federal 76 92 $1.86 $2.43
Military, Civilian 70 75 $0.54 $0.67
State and Local 1397 1496 $25.55 $35.23
Earnings by Place of Residence $153.18 $212.71
Zero values indicate confidential information or fewer than 10 employees
or less than $50,000.
Per Capita Income: 1985: $10,485.00 1990: $14,448.00
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