OUR COMMUNITY IS OUR PEOPLE

Marquette County is located in the heart of Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula along the Southern shores of Lake Superior.

Demographics
Marquette County is home to about 64,000 people. The cities of Ishpeming, Marquette and Negaunee are the largest in the county. Marquette City is the largest with approximately 20,000 residents; Ishpeming is the second with approximately 6,700 residents and Negaunee the third largest with 4,600 residents.

Natural Attributes
Eighty miles of Lake Superior shoreline outline Marquette County. The “Big Lake” as it is known, is the largest fresh water lake in the world, making it a favorite playground of sailors, kayakers, scuba divers and those who love to fish. There are 30,000 acres of inland lakes, 1,900 miles of rivers and streams, 10 scenic waterfalls, two marinas and a public launch site, six lighthouses as well as three mountains and numerous wilderness and recreational areas. In fact, there is 280,000 acres of land available for public use.

Economic Advantages
More than 1,000 businesses are located within Marquette County. The variety of business types is impressive, everything from quaint family-owned shops to large corporations such as Cleveland Cliffs Incorporated, to national brand chains such as Kohl’s, Pier One Imports, Target and Wal*Mart. The Upper Peninsula’s regional medical network, Marquette General Health System, is headquartered in Marquette County as is Bell Hospital. Marquette is also the home to Northern Michigan University, a comprehensive university with an enrollment of more than 9,000 students.

Transportation
Marquette County can be accessed and traveled along four state highways. The area is also the regional aviation hub of the Upper Peninsula, featuring Sawyer International Airport. The three carriers to Sawyer provide a variety of flights to major hubs, including regional jet service to Chicago O’Hare and Minneapolis.

Cultural & Recreational Scene
In Marquette County, art galleries and museums are numerous. There are 10 retail centers, 19 cinema screens, a symphony; university, community and summer theaters and a numerous festivals. The county is also a hotbed of year-round sporting activities and is home to the United State Olympic Education Center, the only Olympic training center in the nation that focuses both on academic and athletic development, and the US National Ski Hall of Fame.