White Cloud is a city 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, ...

, a small town on the bank of the White River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,479. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Newaygo County. Being designated a trail town, the outdoors are a big part of life in White Cloud, with the 4,600 mile North Country Trail stretching nearby, the Mill Pond Park with a beach and playground, and the White Cloud County Park and Campground, being major draws to the area. White Cloud was recognized by the North Country Trail Association as a "Trail Town".

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Economy

The Newaygo County government, White Cloud Public schools, and the North American Refractories Co. NARCO are the major employers in White Cloud. The $13 million state-of-the-art White Cloud Feed Mill opened in April 2018 to serve as the area's leader in supplying nutritional products and technologies. Ceres Solutions Cooperative chose to build the mill in the White Cloud Industrial Park given its proximity to the airport, major highway access, as well as access to Marquette Rail.

Arts and culture

The Purple Heart Pow Wow is held in White Cloud every August for families sponsored by the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Library

The White Cloud Community Library serves as a center of civic, cultural, educational, and recreational information. The library maintains a local history department providing research assistance for patrons as well as many non-residents including genealogy research for Newaygo County. An extensive range of events for adults and children are put on for the community.

Major highways

* - running east and west * - running north and south

Airport

White Cloud Airport is a publicly owned and operated airport with a single 2,917 foot runway. As of 2019 it has a new terminal building, self-service fuel terminal, and is walking distance to downtown White Cloud. Also, it is located next to a new industrial park.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 1,408 people, 467 households, and 294 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 537 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.7%

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 ...

, 7.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 3.1% from other races, and 5.2% 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 6.5% of the population. There were 467 households, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% 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, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.20. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 to 44; 22.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.8% male and 46.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,420 people, 494 households, and 320 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 553 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.41%

, 7.25%

, 1.06% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.14%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.90% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 4.65% of the population. There were 494 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were

living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $2,313, and the median income for a family was $31,797. Males had a median income of $2,417 versus $1,417 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 city was $11,369. About 19.1% of families and 21.8% 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 29.7% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of White Cloud River Country Chamber of Commerce
{{Coord, 43, 33, 01, N, 85, 46, 19, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Cities in Newaygo County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area