Iron County, Michigan
County seat: Crystal Falls · Population 11,757 (2025) · 1,166 sq mi
Iron County is the 73rd most populous of Michigan's 83 counties, with 11,757 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Crystal Falls. It is part of the Upper Peninsula (Region 1) region, one of the 10 Michigan prosperity regions. The map shows its 5 cities and towns and the 9 neighboring counties.
Iron County facts
- County seat
- Crystal Falls
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 11,757 +1.1% since 2020
- Land area
- 1,166 sq mi 6th largest of 83
- Water area
- 45 sq mi
- Population density
- 10 per sq mi
- Established
- 1885
- Same name
- One of 4 Iron Counties in the US
- Named after
- iron chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26
- Largest city
- Iron River 3,027
- Median household income
- $55,940
- Cities and towns
- 5 plus 1 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 8
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 26071
Cities and towns in Iron County
Iron County has 5 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Iron County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | City | 3,027 | |
| Crystal Falls (county seat) | City | 1,607 | |
| Caspian | City | 818 | |
| Gaastra | City | 319 | |
| Alpha | Village | 124 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Amasa | 253 |
ZIP codes in Iron County
8 ZIP codes reach into Iron County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 49879 also Marquette County
- 49902
- 49903
- 49915
- 49920
- 49927
- 49935
- 49967 also Houghton and Ontonagon counties
Population of Iron County, 2020–2025
Iron County grew by 130 people (+1.1%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 623 more deaths than births and a net gain of 753 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 11,630 |
| 2021 | 11,615 |
| 2022 | 11,705 |
| 2023 | 11,764 |
| 2024 | 11,773 |
| 2025 | 11,757 |
Neighboring counties
- Florence County, Wisconsin south · 4,748 people
- Baraga County north · 8,169 people
- Dickinson County east · 25,827 people
- Forest County, Wisconsin south · 9,574 people
- Gogebic County west · 14,285 people
- Houghton County north · 37,842 people
- Marquette County northeast · 68,064 people
- Ontonagon County northwest · 5,823 people
- Vilas County, Wisconsin west · 23,761 people
Printable Iron County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (158 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (83 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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