County Maps US

Van Buren County, Michigan

A county in Michigan, ranked 26 of 83 by population.

CountyFIPS 26159

Within Michigan
Van Buren County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Paw Paw, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
76,071
+497 (+0.7%) since 2020
Land area
607.8
square miles. A further 44.2% of the total area is water
Population density
125
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Paw Paw
Seat of county government.
Established
1829
196 years ago
Largest city
South Haven city
Population 3,997 for the whole place, which extends beyond this county.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Van Buren County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Van Buren County, Michigan from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 650 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Van Buren County ranks

Position among the 83 counties of Michigan, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MichiganNationally
Population76,07126th of 83749th of 3,144
Land area607.8 sq mi35th of 831,598th of 3,144
Population density125 per sq mi27th of 83773rd of 3,144
Median household income$68,11427th of 831,331st of 3,143

Full data for Van Buren County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population76,071Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202075,574Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?75,584Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area607.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area482.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,090 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?125 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$68,114American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$206,500American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age41.2American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households30,622American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units37,405American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-26
788 births, 814 deaths
Net migration
-5
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Van Buren County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Allegan CountyMichigan65 mi123,188
Berrien CountyMichigan57 mi152,444
Kalamazoo CountyMichigan24 mi263,795
Cass CountyMichigan24 mi51,677
Lake CountyIllinois13 mi719,339
St. Joseph CountyMichigana single point60,968

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 83 counties of Michigan

Open the interactive Michigan county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.