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25 employers in Kent County were paid $566,903,019 combined for public employee salaries in 2020, ranking it fourth among Michigan counties, according to the Michigan Government Salaries Database.
Public employees in Wayne County earned the most in 2020, receiving $1,296,720,539 in total. Publicly funded staff work in a variety of organizations, from school districts to state departments.
The data was gathered by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit research and educational institute.
Total public-employee salaries by county in 2020
| Rank | County | Employee count | Amount spent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne County | 26,534 | $1,296,720,539 |
| 2 | Oakland County | 21,175 | $1,051,678,542 |
| 3 | Macomb County | 15,141 | $720,755,975 |
| 4 | Kent County | 13,328 | $566,903,019 |
| 5 | Genesee County | 6,881 | $319,424,754 |
| 6 | Washtenaw County | 6,747 | $295,501,579 |
| 7 | Ottawa County | 5,913 | $253,889,949 |
| 8 | Ingham County | 5,617 | $249,665,713 |
| 9 | Kalamazoo County | 5,548 | $223,762,737 |
| 10 | Muskegon County | 3,581 | $150,060,119 |
| 11 | St. Clair County | 3,289 | $145,570,252 |
| 12 | Livingston County | 3,081 | $140,751,761 |
| 13 | Jackson County | 3,040 | $137,999,653 |
| 14 | Saginaw County | 3,298 | $134,136,430 |
| 15 | Monroe County | 3,342 | $129,454,622 |
| 16 | Calhoun County | 2,798 | $120,223,613 |
| 17 | Berrien County | 2,760 | $113,670,867 |
| 18 | Bay County | 2,533 | $102,739,563 |
| 19 | Grand Traverse County | 2,290 | $93,757,828 |
| 20 | Eaton County | 2,163 | $85,894,621 |
| 21 | Allegan County | 2,129 | $85,829,433 |
| 22 | Van Buren County | 2,217 | $85,321,988 |
| 23 | Lenawee County | 2,015 | $82,163,227 |
| 24 | Midland County | 1,460 | $64,153,586 |
| 25 | Shiawassee County | 1,447 | $59,096,618 |
| 26 | Lapeer County | 1,353 | $55,536,890 |
| 27 | Montcalm County | 1,375 | $55,125,321 |
| 28 | Clinton County | 1,238 | $53,564,865 |
| 29 | St. Joseph County | 1,374 | $51,387,917 |
| 30 | Marquette County | 1,298 | $50,366,338 |
| 31 | Tuscola County | 1,108 | $44,508,412 |
| 32 | Newaygo County | 1,057 | $43,303,164 |
| 33 | Barry County | 1,042 | $42,717,585 |
| 34 | Mecosta County | 942 | $42,591,869 |
| 35 | Ionia County | 1,060 | $41,840,598 |
| 36 | Isabella County | 984 | $40,949,725 |
| 37 | Gratiot County | 922 | $37,802,590 |
| 38 | Branch County | 937 | $36,152,542 |
| 39 | Cass County | 933 | $34,872,962 |
| 40 | Clare County | 789 | $32,683,441 |
| 41 | Houghton County | 751 | $30,714,226 |
| 42 | Wexford County | 773 | $30,631,980 |
| 43 | Mason County | 655 | $30,542,286 |
| 44 | Sanilac County | 715 | $30,509,537 |
| 45 | Huron County | 725 | $28,875,219 |
| 46 | Delta County | 782 | $28,874,765 |
| 47 | Hillsdale County | 763 | $28,195,726 |
| 48 | Chippewa County | 678 | $27,962,647 |
| 49 | Charlevoix County | 585 | $27,075,542 |
| 50 | Emmet County | 514 | $26,003,309 |
| 51 | Alpena County | 639 | $23,682,806 |
| 52 | Iosco County | 554 | $21,964,098 |
| 53 | Dickinson County | 558 | $20,553,532 |
| 54 | Roscommon County | 515 | $19,027,750 |
| 55 | Otsego County | 408 | $18,599,335 |
| 56 | Osceola County | 425 | $16,585,863 |
| 57 | Cheboygan County | 385 | $16,478,797 |
| 58 | Menominee County | 438 | $15,765,684 |
| 59 | Oceana County | 417 | $15,445,709 |
| 60 | Antrim County | 417 | $14,365,962 |
| 61 | Manistee County | 377 | $14,352,013 |
| 62 | Leelanau County | 353 | $13,382,786 |
| 63 | Gladwin County | 296 | $11,441,610 |
| 64 | Gogebic County | 303 | $10,102,322 |
| 65 | Missaukee County | 253 | $10,030,082 |
| 66 | Arenac County | 244 | $9,240,231 |
| 67 | Benzie County | 201 | $9,049,118 |
| 68 | Kalkaska County | 237 | $9,042,185 |
| 69 | Ogemaw County | 230 | $7,936,629 |
| 70 | Mackinac County | 234 | $7,465,309 |
| 71 | Crawford County | 168 | $7,238,808 |
| 72 | Presque Isle County | 158 | $6,293,137 |
| 73 | Iron County | 158 | $6,193,288 |
| 74 | Alger County | 182 | $5,617,254 |
| 75 | Baraga County | 145 | $4,946,644 |
| 76 | Ontonagon County | 131 | $4,492,117 |
| 77 | Oscoda County | 122 | $3,937,033 |
| 78 | Alcona County | 77 | $3,094,091 |
| 79 | Schoolcraft County | 77 | $3,017,805 |
| 80 | Montmorency County | 90 | $2,936,320 |
| 81 | Lake County | 56 | $2,487,894 |
| 82 | Luce County | 58 | $2,292,711 |
| 83 | Caledonia County | 68 | $1,616,072 |
| 84 | Keweenaw County | 3 | $64,976 |
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