Mason County, Michigan is “a community that has a small-town feel but has much to offer that isn’t characteristic of a lot of rural communities,” states Kristi Lucas-Zimmerman, Economic Development Director for the Chamber Alliance of Mason County. It is also a place that “punches above its weight,” in terms of assets and opportunities, she adds.
Some 29,052 residents live in the county, which encompasses roughly 500 square miles on the west side of the state alongside Lake Michigan. The City of Ludington is the county seat and, with a little over 7,600 people, it is also the largest community in the area. Median household income here was $64,748 in 2024 dollars, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Mason County features strong manufacturing, tourism, and educational sectors alongside a buoyant entrepreneurial spirit spurred by local competitions. The foremost industries in Mason County are manufacturing, which accounts for 19.6 percent of jobs, according to a regional economic profile; government, accounting for 15.3 percent of jobs; retail trade with 14.3 percent of jobs; health care and social assistance with 10.8 percent of jobs; and accommodation and food services with 10.0 percent of jobs.
The county is highly receptive to new business. “We are open to conversations with companies that would like to invest here, especially companies that can bring high-paying jobs for residents and can help increase our tax base,” says Lucas-Zimmerman.
County officials also work hard at developing local business talent. The alliance hosts an annual event in Ludington called the Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. During this competition, five aspiring entrepreneurs have five minutes each to pitch a business idea to a panel of four judges. The panel picks the entrepreneur they deem the worthiest, with a live audience acting as a fifth judge in the case of a tie vote. Winners receive $5,000 in this competition, which can be described as Mason County’s version of the popular television program Shark Tank.
Rizzo’s Bread, a sandwich, bread, pizza, and pasta outlet, won the most recent Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. In addition to the prize money, winners also earn an automatic top-10 spot in the Momentum Business Plan Competition, an even bigger contest. In the latter event, local entrepreneurs compete for the chance to win up to $50,000 in seed money and business supports for their company. Last year’s winner was a floral business called the Roots Peony Farm, and previous winners include the Starving Artist Brewery Company, a barn-based brewery, and the KandyLand Dairy & Creamery, an owner-operated dairy operation.
The alliance administers the Momentum Business Plan Competition with funding coming from various organizations including Pennies from Heaven, a private family foundation that provides funding for community and philanthropic ventures in Mason County.
Fun as they are, such events serve a serious purpose, which is to enhance the economic viability of Mason County-based companies. This, in turn, is a major part of the chamber alliance’s mission. “We are here to support entrepreneurs, from that early business planning phase to finding them seed money,” says Brandy Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber Alliance of Mason County.
The alliance has also proven extremely adept at forming partnerships that benefit all parties involved. “One of the things that surprises people is the cross-sector partnerships and alignments that we have,” notes Miller.
Among other partners, the alliance works closely with the Right Place, a regional economic development organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1985, and representing multiple counties, the Right Place aims to boost West Michigan businesses and communities by offering resources, research, and connections to its members and spotlighting state and local business incentives.
Partnering with the Right Place has enabled alliance staff to boost Mason County’s presence and forge ties with companies associated with the group. “We wouldn’t have nearly as many connections if we weren’t plugged in to this really important network in Michigan and the Midwest,” notes Lucas-Zimmerman.
Mason County’s knack for forming strategic partnerships “is definitely something that sets us apart, and I think it’s why we tend to be a leader in our region, because we have greater alignment and true collaboration. It’s not just on paper; we’re all sitting in the same rooms at the same tables. We’re aware of the big pictures—the strategic plans that each of our organizations has and where there are opportunities,” adds Miller.
The county puts a great deal of resources into its educational sector. It has a strong K-12 public school system and is the home of West Shore Community College. Open since 1967, the college offers a wide array of degrees and certificates in everything from computer support to corrections, business administration, emergency medical services, robotics, and neuro-diagnostic technology.
In addition to these courses, West Shore College houses the Summit Tech Center, a career and technical education (CTE) hub. The center is run under the auspices of the West Shore Educational Service District in conjunction with the college. Students at the center can avail themselves of a variety of CTE programs such as culinary arts, automotive technology, welding, agricultural science, and digital media.
Kids in the county also benefit from a savings account program called KickStart to Career (K2C). Under K2C, savings accounts are opened for kindergarten students in county schools to pay for college or career training down the road. KickStart to Career is sponsored by county community groups, financial institutions, and school systems. About 2,000 students from kindergarten to grade six currently have savings accounts thanks to the program.
The Mason County Promise, another educational initiative, covers the cost of tuition and fees at West Shore Community College for qualifying high school and homeschool graduates and recipients of a high school equivalency diploma. And over a quarter of all residents aged 25 years and up have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Blessed with an outstanding location on the coast of Lake Michigan, Mason County is a popular attraction for tourists and seasonal visitors. In addition to offering miles of shoreline, much of it publicly accessible, the county features historic lighthouses, a maritime museum, and a cross-lake boat link to Wisconsin. “We have a very strong tourism industry here. A lot of people, for generations, have vacationed here,” notes Miller.
Ironically, Mason County’s very success in luring visitors is driving a severe housing shortage, arguably the biggest challenge currently facing the community. “There’s a housing crisis, not just in Mason County, not just in Michigan, but across the United States,” says Lucas-Zimmerman. “Our housing crisis is exacerbated by the fact that we’re a tourist destination. Case in point, in Michigan, about six percent of the existing housing stock is vacation or seasonal homes; in Mason County, about 24 percent of our housing stock is seasonal or vacation homes.”
While delighted to host tourists and visitors, the county wants to “make sure we have housing for the people who live here year-round,” she adds.
In 2023, the county authorized a comprehensive study to garner data about the housing crunch. An ensuing housing needs assessment report determined that Mason County faced a shortage of both for-sale and rental housing. More specifically, the county needed 1,566 for-sale units and 864 rental units in total.
To address this shortfall, a new group called the Mason County Housing Alliance was formed. Made up of representatives from municipal agencies, non-profit groups and philanthropic organizations, the alliance mulled over potential solutions to the housing crisis. Out of these deliberations, a five-year strategy for housing was born.
The plan features five goals including creating 1,000 new units of housing by 2030 and repairing 250 existing but aging housing units, since half of all affordable homes valued at $200,000 or less in the county are over 50 years old, according to the housing assessment. The third goal concerns affordable housing. “We really need housing at all price points to meet our needs,” Lucas-Zimmerman explains. The current median value of owner-occupied housing units in Mason County was $219,600, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Goal number four entails creating three new neighborhoods that encompass mixed income and mixed housing, with a focus on livability. “We wanted to create a sense of community for our housing efforts and make sure that people at all income levels have an opportunity to live in a walkable neighborhood, close to amenities,” states Lucas-Zimmernan.
The final goal centers on housing policies and zoning. The housing alliance wants to ensure the creation of a wide range of housing types, from single-family homes to duplexes, triplexes, and row housing.
All these goals, especially the first one, will be tough to meet, but Mason County is up to the challenge. “We wanted to set something pretty ambitious so we could focus our efforts and focus the community around it,” says Lucas-Zimmernan. Thankfully, ambitious benchmarks are nothing new for a county determined to continue punching above its weight.
