The Town Files

Berrien County, Michigan

153,288 people. The median home is worth $224,300 (typical Michigan town: $193,900) and the median household earns $65,425.

Towns in Berrien County

Towns in Berrien County

TownPeopleMedian homeIncomeMedian age
Lincoln14,929$299,100$98,22844.1
Niles14,417$173,100$63,45941.7
Benton14,374$148,700$38,68835.7
Niles11,988$135,100$51,37639.2
St. Joseph9,993$248,900$94,92645.8
Oronoko9,226$228,100$60,17536.0
Benton Harbor9,103$76,500$31,11732.8
St. Joseph7,856$299,000$84,05742.7
Fair Plain7,402$169,400$52,81740.9
Royalton5,141$356,700$128,75048.4
Coloma5,051$203,700$60,41748.1
Berrien4,868$252,500$79,14845.4
Buchanan4,300$154,300$56,16332.7
Benton Heights3,652$97,700$33,54230.9
Buchanan3,436$194,000$66,78351.8
Paw Paw Lake3,323$191,700$67,67439.0
Lake3,316$299,800$83,24143.7
Hagar3,243$237,700$67,27347.4
Watervliet3,036$154,500$58,61642.4
Baroda2,835$234,400$75,33747.2
Chikaming2,778$366,900$83,90862.2
Bainbridge2,682$220,600$74,57451.6
Bertrand2,611$297,100$100,73548.5

People and housing

Berrien CountyTypical Michigan town
Median home value$224,300$193,900
Median rent$942$955
Median household income$65,425$69,792
Median age42.743.7
Bachelor's degree or higher30.9%21.5%
Below the poverty line15.1%10.4%

Jobs and pay

60,626 jobs in 2024, average pay $57,009 a year.

Largest industries in Berrien CountyManufacturing11,601 jobs · $83,266Health care & social assistan…8,001 jobs · $57,662Retail7,096 jobs · $34,508Hotels & restaurants6,789 jobs · $23,690Administrative & support3,037 jobs · $48,646Other services2,176 jobs · $37,863
BLS QCEW 2024.
Unemployment rate in Berrien County0%4%8%12%2000200420082012201620202023 4.2%
BLS LAUS via USDA ERS, annual averages.

Storms since 1996

NOAA recorded 422 storm events in Berrien County from 1996 to 2026, with 4 deaths.

Storm events in Berrien County by type since 1996Hail76Flood11Tornado8Blizzard2Lightning3Flash Flood18Rip Current5Winter Storm20Winter Weather10Cold/Wind Chill2
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

Federal disaster declarations

Berrien County has been included in 12 FEMA declarations since 1953.

DeclaredIncidentDeclaration
March 27, 2020BiologicalDR-4494: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020BiologicalEM-3455: Covid-19
September 7, 2005HurricaneEM-3225: Hurricane Katrina Evacuation
June 30, 2004Severe StormDR-1527: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
January 10, 2001SnowstormEM-3160: Snow
January 27, 1999SnowstormEM-3137: Mi - Severe Weather 1/2 /99
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024; BLS QCEW and LAUS; NOAA Storm Events; FEMA OpenFEMA (not endorsed by FEMA).