Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI Metro Area

The Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area is one county in Michigan: Muskegon County. About 177,901 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 1.8% more than in April 2020.

Muskegon County, centralMuskegonNorton Shores
Muskegon County in Michigan
Population, July 2025
177,901 1.8% more than in April 2020
Type
Metropolitan statistical area
County
Muskegon County
Land area
504 sq mi (1,305 km²)
Time zone
Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
State
Michigan
Combined statistical area
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
CBSA code
34740

The county in the Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI metro area

CountyRolePopulation, July 2025
Muskegon CountyCentral177,901

A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.

Principal cities, largest first

  1. Muskegon37,226 people
  2. Norton Shores25,041 people

OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.

Part of the Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI combined statistical area

OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 3 areas in this one, largest first:

  1. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area1,183,645 people
  2. Holland, MI Micro Area123,188 people
  3. Big Rapids, MI Micro Area42,320 people

Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first

Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.

  1. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area35 mi southeast
  2. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area87 mi west

Before using this answer on a form

A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.

Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.

See this area on Census.gov ↗