County outline
Where Marinette County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 90.3% of Marinette County’s measured area and water for 9.7%. Its combined area converts to 4,014.5 square kilometers or approximately 991,999 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,399.468 | 3,624.605 | 895,659.5 |
| Water | 150.53 | 389.871 | 96,339.2 |
| Total | 1,549.998 | 4,014.476 | 991,998.7 |
How Marinette County compares
By original Census land area, Marinette County ranks #3 of 72 in Wisconsin and #431 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.859 times the Wisconsin county-equivalent median of 753 square miles. It accounts for 2.6% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Wisconsin ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Marinette County
The Census Bureau estimates that 42,574 people lived in Marinette County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,162 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #36 of 72 in Wisconsin. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 41,874, the population has grown by 700 (+1.7%), compared with +1.3% for Wisconsin as a whole.
With 1,399.5 square miles of land, that is 30 people per square mile (12 per km²), placing Marinette County #1,997 nationally for density and #52 in Wisconsin. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Wisconsin median is 51. Put another way, there are about 21 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 41,887 | 41,860 | 41,971 | 42,109 | 42,390 | 42,574 |
| Change | — | −27 | +111 | +138 | +281 | +184 |
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 Marinette County
Marinette County is divided into 25 cities and towns. In Wisconsin, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Marinette city, with 11,168 residents (26.2% of the county). The largest by land is Stephenson town, at 169.6 mi², or 12.1% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Lake town grew fastest since then (+5.2%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marinette cityCounty seat | 11,168 | +0.4% | 7.037 | 0.5% |
| Peshtigo town | 4,087 | +1.7% | 58.9 | 4.2% |
| Stephenson town | 3,654 | +4.7% | 169.6 | 12.1% |
| Peshtigo city | 3,423 | +0% | 2.913 | 0.2% |
| Porterfield town | 1,927 | +1.9% | 51.7 | 3.7% |
| Grover town | 1,754 | +1.8% | 73.1 | 5.2% |
| Niagara city | 1,577 | −1.4% | 2.762 | 0.2% |
| Pound town | 1,435 | +1.8% | 49.5 | 3.5% |
| Lake town | 1,242 | +5.2% | 55.7 | 4% |
| Beaver town | 1,192 | +3.5% | 68.5 | 4.9% |
| Wausaukee town | 1,138 | +3.5% | 75.7 | 5.4% |
| Crivitz village | 1,137 | +4.1% | 1.621 | 0.1% |
| Pembine town | 895 | +1.6% | 66.3 | 4.7% |
| Middle Inlet town | 894 | +4.7% | 50.4 | 3.6% |
| Niagara town | 869 | +2% | 67.2 | 4.8% |
Show the other 10 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beecher town | 795 | +1.1% | 48.5 |
| Coleman village | 738 | +1.2% | 1.35 |
| Amberg town | 706 | +2.8% | 71.3 |
| Wagner town | 674 | +3.4% | 53.2 |
| Goodman town | 616 | +1.8% | 105.8 |
| Dunbar town | 611 | +0.7% | 104.1 |
| Wausaukee village | 594 | −0.3% | 1.376 |
| Athelstane town | 565 | +2.2% | 106.2 |
| Silver Cliff town | 532 | +3.1% | 105.7 |
| Pound village | 351 | −1.1% | 0.887 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Marinette County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Marinette County is a central county of the Marinette, WI-MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2 county equivalents have 65,515 residents on 2,443.5 square miles of land; Marinette County accounts for 57.3% of the land and 65% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #62 of 542 micropolitan areas, and #138 by population. It belongs to the Marinette-Iron Mountain, WI-MI Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Marinette County | 42,574 | 1,399.5 |
| Menominee CountyMichigan | 22,941 | 1,044 |
ZIP codes
16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Marinette County; 12 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
54102541035410454112541145411954120541255413954143541515415654157541595416154177
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 Marinette County
Marinette County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents, including 2 in Michigan. It has more land than every one of them. The largest neighbor is Menominee County (1,044 mi²) and the smallest is Florence County (488 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Marinette County forms a block of 5,704.2 mi² of land, of which it holds 24.5%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Marinette | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menominee CountyMichigan | 1,044 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Forest County | 1,014.3 | 1.4× smaller | Compare |
| Oconto County | 997.5 | 1.4× smaller | Compare |
| Dickinson CountyMichigan | 761 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Florence County | 488 | 2.9× smaller | Compare |
How big is Marinette County compared with U.S. states?
Marinette County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1.4 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.4 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). Wisconsin’s county land could hold about 39 areas the size of Marinette County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 37.4 miles (60.2 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 Marinette County?
Marinette County has more land than 2,791 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
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 Marinette County at #433 nationally by total area, 2 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 9.7%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 8.5 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 Marinette County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #430 | Pend Oreille County, Washington | 1,400.2 | Compare |
| #431 | Marinette County, Wisconsin | 1,399.5 | This county |
| #432 | Dawes County, Nebraska | 1,396.4 | Compare |
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 45.346899, -87.991198. 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: 3,624,605,668 m²; AWATER: 389,870,093 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Marinette County?
Marinette County, Wisconsin has 1,399.5 square miles (3,624.6 km²) of land and 150.5 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,550 square miles. It ranks #431 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Marinette County the largest county in Wisconsin?
No. Marinette County ranks #3 of 72 in Wisconsin by land area. The largest is Marathon County, with 1,545.2 square miles of land.
What counties border Marinette County?
Marinette County shares a land border with Menominee County, Michigan, Oconto County, Forest County, Florence County, and Dickinson County, Michigan.
What is the population of Marinette County?
The Census Bureau estimates Marinette County had 42,574 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,162 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 30 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Marinette County?
The county seat of Marinette County is Marinette.
What cities and towns are in Marinette County?
Marinette County has 25 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Marinette city, Peshtigo town, Stephenson town, Peshtigo city, and Porterfield town.
Is Marinette County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Marinette, WI-MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which has 2 county equivalents and 65,515 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Marinette County?
16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Marinette County, and 12 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Marinette County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Marinette County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 895,660 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 991,999 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.