Northeast Michigan's timber-era port city anchoring a sparse rural media market
Alpena anchors one of Michigan's least densely populated media markets, where Catholic working-class heritage and a shrinking manufacturing base have shaped a county that swung sharply toward Republican presidential candidates over the past two decades.
| Group | Alpena, MI | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 95.8% | 57.4% |
Multiracial / Other | 1.9% | 4.0% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(5) | 1.1% | 19.3% |
▶Black / African American(2) | 0.6% | 12.2% |
▶Asian(3) | 0.3% | 6.0% |
Native American / Alaska Native | 0.3% | 0.9% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(4) | 0.3% | 0.9% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -10.4pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.0% | 39.7% | — | — | |
| 11.9% | 33.7% | — | — | |
| 7.7% | 21.8% | — | — | |
| 1.7% | 4.8% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 1.2% | 3.4% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 64.7% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Alpena, MI metro area? 118,841 residents across 4 counties.
16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 17pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+22 on average nationally.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+28.6 | R+28.1 | 0.5pp |