COUNTY PROFILE - Alger County, Michigan
LOCATION SERVICES
Alger County Economic Development Corp.
P.O. Box 461
Munising, Michigan 49862
Contact: Lois Brow
Phone: 906/387-2516
County Seat: Munising
POPULATION
1970 Census 8568
1980 Census 9225
1990 Census 8972
Median Age (as of 1990) 36.7 years
LABOR FORCE
(1992 average)
Total Labor Force 5325
Employed 4850
Total Unemployment 475
Unemployment Rate 8.8%
3-Year Average 8.2%
PRINCIPAL ECONOMIC BASE EMPLOYERS
Firm Employees Product/Service
Kimberly Clark, Munising 450 Specialty papers
Alger Correctional Facility 315 Prison
Timber Products Michigan 240 Hardwood lumber & veneer
Superior Shores Nurses Home 111 Skilled nursing facility
Munising Memorial Hosp., Munising 45 Health care
Hiawatha Log Homes 30 Hardwood dimension & flooring
Champagne Tool 17 Tools, dies, gauges
Graves Lumber 17 Sawmill
Trenary Home Bakery, Trenary 16 Bakery
Richmond & Hawley, Chatham 10 Hardwood cants & ties
Iverson Snowshoe 8 Snowshoes
EARNING LEVELS
Average Hourly Rate
Classification Minimum Maximum
Assembler - Light $4.73 $4.73
Clerk, General Office $5.90 $9.84
Forklift Operator $7.53 $8.40
General Laborer $8.27 $8.27
Inspector $7.71 $11.04
Maintenance, Building $8.12 $9.46
Mill Worker $4.73 $8.27
Painter $14.59 $14.59
Secretary $4.30 $7.96
Source: Based on Bell Telephone Co. community survey, adjusted for
inflation to 1991 using Consumer Price Index.
DISTANCE TO:
Miles Kilometers
Chicago 370 595
Detroit 400 643
Lansing 350 563
Milwaukee 285 458
Minneapolis 435 699
Toronto 630 1013
TRANSPORTATION
Main Highways: M-28, M-67, M-77, M-94, US-41
Bus Lines:
Truck Lines: 2
Rail Lines: Lake Superior & Ishpeming; Wisconsin Central
Ports: None
Airports: Hanley Field; Grand Marais; Marquette (50 miles)
Airlines: American Eagle, Great Lakes, Northwest Airlink
CLIMATE
As reported by weather station at Munising.
January Average Minimum: 9 F./-13 C. Average Maximum: 24 F./ -4 C.
July Average Minimum: 53 F./ 12 C. Average Maximum: 76 F./ 24 C.
Growing Season: 106 days
Days below 0 F or -18 C: 22 Average Annual Rainfall: 33 in./ 84 cm.
Days above 90 F or 32 C: 4 Average Annual Snowfall: 148 in./376 cm.
INDUSTRIAL SITES
(As of January 1993)
Community Sites Acres Hectares Industrial Parks
Mathias Twp. 1 0 0 0
Munising 0 0 0 1
Munising Twp. 2 4 2 0
COUNTY TOTAL 3 4 2 1
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: 0 $0.00
3-Year Average: 26 $0.88 0 $0.00 0 $0.00 3 $0.51
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: 23 State Median: 68
Incorporation Rate: 256 State Median: 183
Incorporation Rate = incorporations per 100,000 population.
PROPERTY TAX BASE
(As of 1992)
Agricultural Residential Industrial Commercial Other
1% 71% 3% 11% 14%
County Total State Equalized Value: $122,591,163.00
County Average Tax Millage Rate (in 1991): 50.53
UTILITIES
Electric Gas Telephone*
Munising UP Pwr/WI Pwr. MichCon Hiawatha
* 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.)
Munising Lake 20 5 76 19 30-90
Capacity and maximum use in hundreds of thousands of gallons/liters per day.
SEWER
Gallons Liters
Type Capacity Load Capacity Load
Munising Act. Sludge 20 7 76 26
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)
Munising 906-387-2095 2783 yes yes 12,585
------- Fire Department ------- Police
Community Class. FT Paid PT/Volunt. (Full-Time) Solid Waste
Munising 6 19 5 Independent
County Sheriff Officers: 8 Licensed Landfills in County: 0
Other communities in Alger County (1990 population for incorporated communities
in parenthesis):
Au Train, Au Train Twp. (1047), Burt Twp. (508), Chatham (268), Deerton, Eben
Junction, Grand Island Twp. (21), Grand Marais, Kiva, Limestone Twp. (334),
Mathias Twp. (563), Melstrand, Moline, Munising Twp. (334), Onota Twp. (244),
Rock River Twp. (1279), Rumely, Shingleton, Traunik, Trenary, Wetmore
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES (1992-1993)
K-12 Instruc. High
Community School District Students Staff Schools
Munising Munising Public 1118 48 1
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
(As of Fall 1991)
Name and Location Enrollment
Bay de Noc Community College, Escanaba (60 mi.) 2255
Northern Michigan University, Marquette (45 mi.) 8652
MEDICAL FACILITIES
Hospitals in County: 1 Total Beds: 40
Nearest Large Medical Center: Marquette (45 miles)
Extended Care Facilities: 1 Total Beds: 106
Physicians (MDs and DOs) in County: 5
HOUSING AND CHURCHES
(Housing as of 1990)
Owner occupied: 2671 ( 80.%) Median Home Value: $39,200.00
Renter occupied: 666 ( 20.%) Median Contract Rent: $206.00
Churches: Catholic: 3 Protestant: 12
Synagogues: 0 Nearest synagogue is in Marquette (45 miles)
RECREATION, ATTRACTIONS, AND EVENTS
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; Hiawatha National Forest; Laughing
Whitefish Falls State Park; trails (part of North Country trail network);
10 scenic waterfalls; recreational harbor facilities at Grand Marais and
Munising on Lake Superior; Grand Island, Pictured Rocks Cruises; charter
fishing boats. Devil's Log Slide; Au Sable Lighthouse; Lobb House Museum.
Grand Marais Airport Fly-In (Sept.)
COMMERCIAL SERVICES
(As of 1989)
General Building Contractors 4
Metalworking Machinery 1
Commercial Printing 0
Advertising 0
Personnel Supply Services 0
Computer and Data Processing Services 0
Legal Services 5
Accounting, Auditing and Bookkeeping 1
Retail Establishments 77
Wholesale Establishments 9
Hotel/Motel Rooms (as of 1986): 382
Television Channels: 3 plus cable
Radio Stations: 1
Newspapers: Grand Marais Pilot & Pictured Rocks Review, Mining Journal
(Marquette), Munising News, Porcupine Press
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
(As of 1993) Offices
Main Office in County
First Northern National Bank Manistique 2
First of America Bank-Upper Peninsula, Marquette 1
MFC First National Bank Marquette 2
Peoples State Bank of Munising Munising 3
EMPLOYMENT AND EARNINGS BY INDUSTRY
Earnings
Employment ($ millions)
1985 1990 1985 1990
Total Employment 2571 3238
Total Income $74.25 $100.68
Earnings by Place of Work $39.10 $59.90
Components by Type:
Wage and Salary 1860 2437 $29.49 $45.87
Proprietors 711 801 $6.57 $9.04
Farm 84 72 $0.73 $1.12
Nonfarm 627 729 $5.84 $7.93
Components by Industry:
Farm 115 98 $0.89 $1.26
Nonfarm 2456 3140 $38.22 $58.64
Private 1963 2588 $29.60 $46.56
Agric./For./Fish. 39 69 $0.38 $0.70
Mining $0.11 $0.06
Construction 60 162 $0.69 $2.09
Manufacturing 621 848 $15.24 $25.57
Non-Durable Goods --- ---
Durable Goods --- ---
Transp. & Utilities 118 128 $2.20 $3.17
Wholesale Trade 46 53 $0.54 $0.97
Retail Trade 493 597 $3.98 $5.07
Fin./Ins./Real Est. 136 147 $0.93 $1.07
Services 449 583 $5.53 $7.85
Government 493 552 $8.62 $12.09
Federal 48 73 $0.99 $1.51
Military, Civilian 28 19 $0.28 $0.12
State and Local 417 460 $7.35 $10.45
Earnings by Place of Residence $37.57 $54.74
Zero values indicate confidential information or fewer than 10 employees
or less than $50,000.
Per Capita Income: 1985: $8,381.00 1990: $11,198.00
County Economic Profiles are prepared for the Michigan Department of Commerce
(phone: 517/373-9808) by the Industrial Development Division, Office of Tech-
nology Transfer (OTT/IDD), The University of Michigan (phone: 313/764-5260).
Profiles are updated throughout the year. A list of data sources is avail-
able from IDD. Revisions and corrections may be sent to IDD by electronic
mail (All-in-1 ID: UNIVMICH), U.S. mail (2200 Bonisteel Blvd., Ann Arbor,
MI 48109-2099), phone, or FAX (313/747-0036).
Permission is hereby granted to reprint the information.
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