Kalamazoo County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 238,603. The county seat is Kalamazoo. It is part of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Area.
See, Etymology of Kalamazoo for detail on the origin of the name. See also, List of Michigan county name etymologies.
[edit]Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,502.2 km2), of which 562 square miles (1,455.6 km2) is land and 18 square miles (46.6 km2) (3.16%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 238,603 people, 93,479 households, and 57,956 families residing in the county. The population density was 425 people per square mile (164/km²). There were 99,250 housing units at an average density of 177 per square mile (68/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.57% White, 9.73% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 2.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.3% were of German, 11.5% Dutch, 10.3% English, 8.4% Irish and 7.2% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 93.7% spoke English and 2.8% Spanish as their first language.
The county government operates the jail, provides law enforcement in unincorporated areas, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.
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