Portage, Michigan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Portage, Michigan
City
Location within Kalamazoo County
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Kalamazoo
Settled	1830
Established	1838 (Portage Township)
Incorporated	1963 (city)
Government
• Type	Council-manager
Area
• Total	35.25 sq mi (91.30 km2)
• Land	32.29 sq mi (83.64 km2)
• Water	2.96 sq mi (7.66 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	48,891
• Density	1,514.12/sq mi (584.61/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49002, 49024, 49081
Area code(s)	269
FIPS code	26-65560
GNIS feature ID	635269

Portage is a city located in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, in the United States. In 2020, about 48,891 people lived there. It's part of a larger area called the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan area, which had over 261,000 people in 2020.

History of Portage

Portage was first settled by people in 1830. It officially became a city in 1963.

Recent Tornado Event

Mobile homes damaged by a tornado in Portage, Michigan.

On May 7, 2024, a strong tornado hit Portage. It caused a lot of damage to homes and other buildings. A large FedEx building was badly damaged when part of its roof fell in. More than 500 buildings were harmed, and 60 of them were completely destroyed. This included a shopping area.

Geography and Lakes

Portage covers a total area of about 35 square miles (91 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, while about 3 square miles (7.6 square kilometers) is water.

Austin Lake and West Lake

Austin Lake is found in the southeast part of the city. It was named after Moses Austin. He moved to Portage Township in 1833. A small community grew on the north side of the lake, called Austin or Austin Lake. A post office was set up there in 1850. West Lake is right next to Austin Lake, with Portage Road running between them.

Population and People

In 2010, there were 46,292 people living in Portage. There were 19,199 households, which are groups of people living together. The city had about 1,436 people per square mile.

Who Lives in Portage?

• Most people (86.9%) were White.
• About 4.9% were African American.
• About 3.8% were Asian.
• About 0.4% were Native American.
• About 3.0% were from two or more races.
• About 3.1% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.

Many households (32.4%) had children under 18. About half (50.1%) were married couples. The average age of people in Portage was 38.1 years old.

Economy and Jobs

Portage is home to the largest manufacturing plant for Pfizer. This company makes medicines. The facility covers 1,300 acres. In 2020, this plant helped prepare millions of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. These doses were then sent across the country.

Education and Schools

Most students in Portage attend schools in the Portage Public Schools district. However, some parts of the city are served by other school districts. These include Comstock Public Schools, Vicksburg Community Schools, and Schoolcraft Community Schools.

Famous People from Portage

See also

In Spanish: Portage (Míchigan) para niños