Houghton County is part of the Houghton micropolitan area, which also includes Keweenaw County. Part of the county is sometimes locally called Copper Island.
The County was set off in 1843, organized in 1846 and reorganized in 1848. It is named for geologist Douglass Houghton.
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,016 people, 13,793 households, and 8,137 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 17,748 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.52% White, 0.94% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.8% were of Finnish, 12.4% German, 6.8% English, 6.6% French and 5.7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.0% spoke English and 3.1% Finnish as their first language.
There were 13,793 households out of which 26.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.50% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.00% were non-families. 32.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county the population was spread out with 21.80% under the age of 18, 19.10% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 113.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,817, and the median income for a family was $38,635. Males had a median income of $30,200 versus $22,468 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,078. About 9.90% of families and 16.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.10% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.