Laird Township is a

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

of Houghton County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The population was 487 at the 2020 census.

Communities

*Alston is an unincorporated community in the township at . It began with a rural post office named Laird in August 1887. The office was closed in October 1888 but was restored in November 1888. When J.V. Alston became postmaster in April 1902, the community and post office were renamed for him. The office continued to operate until June 1957. *Bishop is an unincorporated community in the township. *Motley is an unincorporated community in the township. * Nisula is an unincorporated community in the township. *Pori, also sometimes called "Plato," is an unincorporated community in the township.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.69%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 634 people, 253 households, and 170 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 436 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 94.48%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.52% Native American, 0.79% Asian, and 2.21% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.16% of the population. 60.1% were of Finnish, 13.7%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and 5.3%

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 253 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.12. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $29,659 versus $20,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $14,728. About 3.6% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notes

{{authority control Townships in Houghton County, Michigan Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan Townships in Michigan