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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