Select a dataset category among those listed above for regional dashboards and reports.
This article is part of an ongoing, county-by-county, industry overview of the Tri-County Area. This article covers establishments, employment, and earnings in Eaton County.
Eaton County was founded in 1837 and as of 2024, has an estimated population of 108,820. The County seat is Charlotte, approximately 21 miles from downtown Lansing. The County is named after former Secretary of War, John Eaton. As shown in Figure 1, the largest industry in Eaton County by number of establishments is Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (483 establishments) followed by Professional Business Services (352 establishments).
Figure 1: Number of Establishments in Eaton County, 2022 to 2024
Source: Data Tactical Group, DTG 2024.Q2
An industry must have at least 130 establishments to be considered one of the top industries in Eaton County. Figure 2 presents these industries along with the growth in the number of establishments. Of the industries in that group, Leisure & Hospitality saw the fastest growth in the County, increasing 16% from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, all the industries with at least 130 establishments experienced an increase between 2022 and 2024.
Figure 2: Percent Change in Top Establishments, Eaton County (By Number of Establishments), 2022 to 2024
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities is the largest industry group by number of employees in Eaton County, and Health Services & Private Education is the second largest industry (Figure 3). Two of the three top industries by employment in the County have seen increases in employment since 2022. In fact, six of the top eight industries all experienced employment growth over the last two years.
Figure 3: Number of Employees by Industry, Eaton County, 2022 to 2024
By growth in employment, the Other Services Industry saw the greatest change from 2022 to 2024 in Eaton County (Figure 4) at +8%. Employment in Leisure and Hospitality also saw significant growth in Eaton County. In fact, the County outpaced Michigan and the nation with employment growth in this industry. This sector also outpaced the state and the nation in employment growth. However, Professional Business Services saw a decline in employment in all three comparative regions.
Figure 4: Change in Employment, Eaton County, 2022 to 2024
Manufacturing tops the list in Eaton County as the industry with the highest GDP ($1,812,313,000), as shown in Figure 5. Professional and Commercial Equipment and Real Estate, Rental and Leasing occupies second place ($1,508,115,000).
Figure 5: Real GDP, Eaton County, 2021 to 2023
One way to visualize industry earnings in Eaton County is imagining all earnings from all industries as a hundred dollars. Of that hundred dollars, three of the eight industries listed comprise $67. In total, those eight industries produce about $93. The remaining $7 is produced by all other industries, meaning that earnings in Eaton County are more concentrated within these eight sectors (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Earnings Visualized, Eaton County, 2023
