Houghton County
Also known as Houghton County, Michigan, Houghton County, MI
county in Michigan, United States
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- Michigan
- Founded
- 1843 (set off), 1845 (boundaries described), 1846 (organized), 1848 (re-organized)
- Named after
- Douglass Houghton
- Seat
- Houghton
- Largest city
- Houghton
- Total
- 1,502 sq mi (3,890 km )
- Land
- 1,009 sq mi (2,610 km )
- Water
- 492 sq mi (1,270 km ) 33%
- Estimate 2025
- 37,842
- Density
- 36/sq mi (14/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−5 ( Eastern )
- Summer dst
~14 min read
Article
Old specimen of native copper from Houghton County. Houghton County hosted a major copper-mining industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Houghton County (/ˈhoʊtən/; HOH-tən) is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,361. The county seat and largest city is Houghton. Both the county and the city were named for Michigan State geologist and Detroit Mayor Douglass Houghton.