Marquette County (/mɑːrˈkɛt/ mar-KET) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,017. It is the most populous county in the Upper Peninsula. The county seat is Marquette. The county is named for Father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary. It was set off in 1843 and organized in 1851.

Marquette County comprises the Marquette, MI micropolitan statistical area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,425 square miles (8,870 km), of which 1,808 square miles (4,680 km) is land and 1,616 square miles (4,190 km) (47%) is water. It is the largest county in Michigan by land area and fourth-largest by total area.

The Huron Mountains are located in the county. To the north of the county is Lake Superior.

• Hiawatha National Forest (part)
• Huron National Wildlife Refuge
• Ottawa National Forest (part)

Marquette County Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D     84     −6 −12     83     −7 −12     70     −2 −10     110     6 −4     94     16 3     120     14 9     126     20 14     86     20 11     89     16 11     130     10 4     105     2 −3     79     −5 −8 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.3     21 10     3.3     19 10     2.8     28 14     4.3     43 25     3.7     61 37     4.7     57 48     5     68 57     3.4     68 52     3.5     61 52     5.1     50 39     4.1     36 27     3.1     23 18 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

• Ishpeming
• Marquette (county seat)
• Negaunee

• Chocolay Charter Township
• Marquette Charter Township

• The L'Anse Indian Reservation, which is primarily based in Baraga County to the west, has a small portion within Chocolay Township.
• The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which is headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie in Chippewa County, occupies a very small piece of property within the city limits of Marquette.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	136		—
1860	2,821		1,974.3%
1870	15,033		432.9%
1880	25,394		68.9%
1890	39,521		55.6%
1900	41,239		4.3%
1910	46,739		13.3%
1920	45,786		−2.0%
1930	44,076		−3.7%
1940	47,144		7.0%
1950	47,654		1.1%
1960	56,154		17.8%
1970	64,686		15.2%
1980	74,101		14.6%
1990	70,887		−4.3%
2000	64,634		−8.8%
2010	67,077		3.8%
2020	66,017		−1.6%
2023 (est.)	66,999		1.5%
US Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2018

In 2020, the population of the county was 66,017.

Last updated June 8, 2021.

According to the Lake Superior Community Partnership website, the top employers in the county are:

Private employer # of employees UP Health System – Marquette 1,599 Cliffs Natural Resources, Michigan Operations 998 Upper Peninsula Medical Center 650 UP Health System – Bell 360 Walmart 392 RTI Surgical 230 Envoy Air 207 Eagle Mine 187 Westwood Mall Association 190 Eastwood Nursing Center 140 Alger-Marquette County Community Action Board 148 Norlite Nursing Center 110 Ojibwa Casino II 140 Superior Extrusion, Inc. 153 PotlatchDeltic 140 Pathways 108 Meijer 310 VanDamme Trucking 132

Public employer	# of employees
Northern Michigan University	914
Marquette Area Public Schools	410
Michigan Department of Corrections	350
County of Marquette	251
Negaunee Public Schools	190
D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans	167
City of Marquette	185
NICE Community School District	163
Gwinn Area Community Schools	140
Ishpeming Public Schools	104

*Bolded values have been updated for 2021.

Northern Michigan University is a four-year university in Marquette. It was established in 1899.

Marquette County is divided into the following school districts:

• Gwinn Area Community Schools
• Ishpeming Public School District
• Marquette Area Public Schools
• Negaunee Public Schools
• NICE Community School District
• Powell Township Schools
• Republic-Michigamme School District

There are ten historical markers in the county:

• Cliffs Shaft Mine
• Dandelion Cottage
• Father Marquette Park
• First Steam Railroad in Upper Peninsula
• Ishpeming: Historic Ski Center
• Jackson Mine
• Marquette County Courthouse
• Marquette Iron Range
• Northern Michigan University
• Sam Cohodas Lodge / Sam Cohodas

Marquette County was reliably Republican following the American Civil War; its voters went Republican (or Republican-splinter) in every election from 1876 through 1932. However, that shifted in 1936; since then, the Republican nominee has carried the county in only five out of 23 elections through 2024, four of which were nationwide Republican landslides and the other had native Michigander Gerald Ford as the Republican nominee. At present, it has since become the only Democratic-leaning county in the Upper Peninsula. It was the only Upper Peninsula County to vote for Democratic presidential candidates in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

United States presidential election results for Marquette County, Michigan

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	17,459	44.76%	20,866	53.49%	684	1.75%
2020	16,286	43.37%	20,465	54.50%	799	2.13%
2016	14,646	44.09%	16,042	48.29%	2,530	7.62%
2012	13,606	42.06%	18,115	56.00%	625	1.93%
2008	12,906	38.80%	19,635	59.03%	719	2.16%
2004	14,690	45.22%	17,412	53.60%	386	1.19%
2000	12,577	43.10%	15,503	53.13%	1,099	3.77%
1996	8,805	32.91%	15,168	56.69%	2,785	10.41%
1992	9,665	30.56%	16,038	50.71%	5,926	18.74%
1988	11,704	42.92%	15,418	56.54%	145	0.53%
1984	14,196	49.98%	14,074	49.55%	132	0.46%
1980	13,181	44.71%	13,312	45.16%	2,986	10.13%
1976	12,984	49.34%	12,837	48.78%	494	1.88%
1972	13,249	52.67%	11,555	45.93%	353	1.40%
1968	8,960	42.68%	11,199	53.34%	836	3.98%
1964	6,615	31.96%	14,045	67.86%	36	0.17%
1960	10,690	48.77%	11,177	51.00%	50	0.23%
1956	12,504	56.62%	9,543	43.21%	37	0.17%
1952	11,618	53.65%	9,949	45.94%	88	0.41%
1948	8,591	45.06%	10,003	52.47%	470	2.47%
1944	8,163	40.93%	11,707	58.70%	74	0.37%
1940	9,034	41.10%	12,854	58.48%	94	0.43%
1936	7,607	38.33%	11,994	60.44%	243	1.22%
1932	9,810	55.65%	7,221	40.96%	598	3.39%
1928	10,879	68.81%	4,716	29.83%	216	1.37%
1924	9,771	70.70%	845	6.11%	3,204	23.18%
1920	9,233	70.46%	3,012	22.99%	858	6.55%
1916	5,263	63.18%	2,625	31.51%	442	5.31%
1912	2,603	33.28%	997	12.75%	4,222	53.98%
1908	5,613	74.78%	1,275	16.99%	618	8.23%
1904	5,654	82.94%	785	11.52%	378	5.54%
1900	5,235	75.52%	1,471	21.22%	226	3.26%
1896	5,111	70.11%	1,980	27.16%	199	2.73%
1892	3,874	53.03%	2,850	39.01%	581	7.95%
1888	4,512	65.76%	2,105	30.68%	244	3.56%
1884	4,230	73.49%	1,478	25.68%	48	0.83%
1880	2,434	65.08%	1,271	33.98%	35	0.94%
1876	2,308	56.88%	1,750	43.12%	0	0.00%

The county government operates Sawyer International Airport, the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

• County Clerk: Linda Talsma
• County Treasurer: Jacqueline Solomon
• Drain Commissioner: P. Michael Farrell
• Mine Inspector: Steve Bertucci
• Prosecuting Attorney: Jenna M. Nelson
• Register of Deeds: Aidan Mckindles
• Sheriff: Gregory S. Zyburt

• Sawyer International Airport, a county-owned public-use facility, twenty miles (32 km) south of Marquette on the site of K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, which closed 29 years ago in 1995.

• MarqTran provides local transit services in and around Marquette.
• Indian Trails provides intercity bus service.

• US 41
• M-28
• M-35
• M-94
• M-95
• M-553

In addition to the 169.42 miles (272.66 km) of state highways in the county, the Marquette County Road Commission maintains 283.85 miles (456.81 km) of primary county roads which include County Road 492 (CR 492), and 988.25 miles (1,590.43 km) of secondary county roads. The road commission provides maintenance such as snow removal under contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation for the state trunklines. In 2010, the commission planned to build CR 595. The project was canceled after the permit was denied by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the project funding was diverted.

• List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Marquette County, Michigan
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Marquette County, Michigan

• Marquette County web site

46°40′N 87°36′W / 46.66°N 87.60°W / 46.66; -87.60