Midland County area

Midland County, Michigan covers 528.1 square miles: 518.4 square miles of land and 9.635 square miles of water. Its county seat is Midland. An estimated 83,754 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 261112026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area518.4 mi²
Water area9.635 mi²
Population (2025)83,754
People per mi²162

County outline

Generalized outline of Midland County, Michigan
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Midland County is located

Midland County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 98.2% of Midland County’s measured area and water for 1.8%. Its combined area converts to 1,367.7 square kilometers or approximately 337,964 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land518.4341,342.738331,797.8
Water9.63524.9556,166.4
Total528.0691,367.692337,964.2

How Midland County compares

By original Census land area, Midland County ranks #67 of 83 in Michigan and #2015 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.913 times the Michigan county-equivalent median of 567.8 square miles. It accounts for 0.9% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Michigan ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Midland County

The Census Bureau estimates that 83,754 people lived in Midland County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #710 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #24 of 83 in Michigan. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 83,497, the population has grown by 257 (+0.3%), compared with +0.5% for Michigan as a whole.

With 518.4 square miles of land, that is 162 people per square mile (62 per km²), placing Midland County #740 nationally for density and #21 in Michigan. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Michigan median is 62. Put another way, there are about 4 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate83,48883,50983,72183,91583,76883,754
Change—+21+212+194−147−14

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Midland County

Midland County is divided into 18 municipalities and townships. In Michigan, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.

The most populous is Midland city, with 42,630 residents (50.9% of the county). The largest by land is Ingersoll township, at 36.5 mi², or 7% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Lee township grew fastest since then (+2.2%).

County subdivisionPopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²Share of county land
Midland cityCounty seat42,630+0.3%34.36.6%
Larkin charter township5,390+1.2%31.86.1%
Jerome township4,613−0.3%33.26.4%
Lee township4,075+2.2%35.66.9%
Homer township3,952−0.8%20.94%
Ingersoll township2,622−1.4%36.57%
Lincoln township2,550+1.8%23.34.5%
Edenville township2,495−0.2%34.86.7%
Midland charter townshipCounty seat2,201−0.9%7.1881.4%
Warren township2,045+0.2%34.76.7%
Mills township1,807+1.9%35.66.9%
Greendale township1,730+0.1%35.46.8%
Mount Haley township1,600−0.4%23.84.6%
Hope township1,383+0.7%234.4%
Porter township1,269−0.2%35.76.9%
Show the other 3 subdivisions
NamePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Coleman city1,252−1%1.271
Jasper township1,073+0.8%35.9
Geneva township1,067+0.5%35.5

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Midland County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Midland County is a central county of the Midland, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Midland County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the metro area has the same 518.4 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #356 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #383 by population. It belongs to the Saginaw-Midland-Bay City, MI Combined Statistical Area.

ZIP codes

16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Midland County; 6 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

48612486154861848620486234862648628486374864048642486524865748662488584888048883

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Midland County

Midland County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Saginaw County (800.8 mi²) and the smallest is Bay County (442.4 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Midland County forms a block of 3,404.5 mi² of land, of which it holds 15.2%.

Map of Midland County and the 5 county equivalents that border it Isabella County, Michigan: 572.7 mi² landGladwin County, Michigan: 501.8 mi² landBay County, Michigan: 442.4 mi² landSaginaw County, Michigan: 800.8 mi² landGratiot County, Michigan: 568.4 mi² land
Midland County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. MidlandCompare
Saginaw County800.81.5× largerCompare
Isabella County572.71.1× largerCompare
Gratiot County568.41.1× largerCompare
Gladwin County501.8about the sameCompare
Bay County442.41.2× smallerCompare

How big is Midland County compared with U.S. states?

Midland County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2 times as much. Michigan’s county land could hold about 109 areas the size of Midland County.

Land area: Midland County and the closest-sized states
Midland County518.4 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 22.8 miles (36.6 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Midland County?

Midland County has more land than 1,207 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Midland County518.4 mi²
Michigan median567.8 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Midland County at #2,077 nationally by total area, 62 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 1.8%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.7 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Midland County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2014Sussex County, New Jersey518.5Compare
#2015Midland County, Michigan518.4This county
#2016Lee County, Iowa517.6Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 43.648203, -84.379414. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,342,738,437 m²; AWATER: 24,953,307 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Midland County?

Midland County, Michigan has 518.4 square miles (1,342.7 km²) of land and 9.635 square miles of water, for a total area of 528.1 square miles. It ranks #2015 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Midland County the largest county in Michigan?

No. Midland County ranks #67 of 83 in Michigan by land area. The largest is Marquette County, with 1,809.1 square miles of land.

What counties border Midland County?

Midland County shares a land border with Isabella County, Gladwin County, Bay County, Saginaw County, and Gratiot County.

What is the population of Midland County?

The Census Bureau estimates Midland County had 83,754 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #710 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 162 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Midland County?

The county seat of Midland County is Midland.

What cities and towns are in Midland County?

Midland County has 18 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Midland city, Larkin charter township, Jerome township, Lee township, and Homer township.

Is Midland County part of a metropolitan area?

Yes. It is a central county of the Midland, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

How many ZIP codes are in Midland County?

16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Midland County, and 6 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Midland County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Midland County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 331,798 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 337,964 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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