Michigan Deer Hunting, County by County
83 Michigan counties ranked by a provisional FDR Deer Herd Index Provisional. A 0–100 score built from Michigan DNR (MDNR) county deer harvest registrations (antlered/antlerless), seasons 2011 and 2018–2025. Click any county for the free report: multi-year harvest trend, herd metrics.
This index is provisional: Provisional index covering herd quality (antlered share only, because the state publishes no yearling or fawn age structure), harvest density, harvest trend, trophy (the Trophy Index) and the deer-vehicle crash rate per billion vehicle-miles; habitat and public land are not included because no per-county layer attributes cleanly. It is computed from what is real in the public harvest record. The Trophy Index ranks each county 0 to 100 against every county we cover. Ranked per acre of bow-huntable land (10 m estimate). Public land for Michigan is not in the index yet, so that column shows a dash.
Other states: Illinois · Missouri · Wisconsin · Ohio · Iowa · Indiana
| Rank | County | FDR Index | Tier | Trophy | Public land % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Arenac | 65.9 | B - Strong | 30→ | — |
| #2 | Hillsdale | 65.9 | B - Strong | 81↓ | — |
| #3 | Genesee | 65.4 | B - Strong | 76↓ | — |
| #4 | Dickinson | 63.5 | B - Strong | 21→ | — |
| #5 | Alcona | 62.6 | B - Strong | 22→ | — |
| #6 | Alpena | 62 | B - Strong | 24↓ | — |
| #7 | Lapeer | 61.1 | B - Strong | 71↓ | — |
| #8 | Branch | 60.7 | B - Strong | 85→ | — |
| #9 | Delta | 60.5 | B - Strong | 19↑ | — |
| #10 | Mecosta | 60.3 | B - Strong | 58↓ | — |
| #11 | Van Buren | 60.3 | B - Strong | 83↑ | — |
| #12 | Livingston | 59.4 | B - Strong | 72↓ | — |
| #13 | Shiawassee | 59.2 | B - Strong | 81→ | — |
| #14 | Isabella | 58.9 | B - Strong | 58↑ | — |
| #15 | Monroe | 57.9 | B - Strong | 86↑ | — |
| #16 | St. Clair | 57.3 | B - Strong | 61→ | — |
| #17 | Presque Isle | 57.2 | B - Strong | 22→ | — |
| #18 | Kalamazoo | 57.1 | B - Strong | 89↑ | — |
| #19 | Clinton | 56.9 | B - Strong | 91↑ | — |
| #20 | Montcalm | 56.9 | B - Strong | 73↑ | — |
| #21 | Charlevoix | 56.6 | B - Strong | 48→ | — |
| #22 | Eaton | 55.6 | B - Strong | 83→ | — |
| #23 | Gladwin | 55.5 | B - Strong | 50↓ | — |
| #24 | Gratiot | 55.5 | B - Strong | 69↓ | — |
| #25 | Jackson | 55.5 | B - Strong | 84↓ | — |
| #26 | Oceana | 55.5 | B - Strong | 35→ | — |
| #27 | Osceola | 55.4 | B - Strong | 62↑ | — |
| #28 | Menominee | 54.8 | C - Above Average | 19→ | — |
| #29 | Saginaw | 54.2 | C - Above Average | 44↓ | — |
| #30 | Washtenaw | 53.8 | C - Above Average | 87↓ | — |
| #31 | Clare | 53.6 | C - Above Average | 51↓ | — |
| #32 | Iron | 53.3 | C - Above Average | 18→ | — |
| #33 | Ingham | 52.7 | C - Above Average | 87↑ | — |
| #34 | Leelanau | 52.4 | C - Above Average | 57↓ | — |
| #35 | Mackinac | 52.2 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #36 | Wayne | 52.2 | C - Above Average | 87↓ | — |
| #37 | Muskegon | 52 | C - Above Average | 55↓ | — |
| #38 | Lenawee | 51.9 | C - Above Average | 70↑ | — |
| #39 | Oakland | 51.6 | C - Above Average | 83↓ | — |
| #40 | Barry | 51.5 | C - Above Average | 78↑ | — |
| #41 | Tuscola | 51.5 | C - Above Average | 51↓ | — |
| #42 | Cheboygan | 51.3 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #43 | Manistee | 50.9 | C - Above Average | 25↑ | — |
| #44 | Kent | 50.8 | C - Above Average | 83↓ | — |
| #45 | Calhoun | 50.6 | C - Above Average | 82→ | — |
| #46 | Otsego | 50.5 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #47 | Allegan | 50.1 | C - Above Average | 77→ | — |
| #48 | Houghton | 50.1 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #49 | Sanilac | 49.9 | C - Above Average | 53↑ | — |
| #50 | Ottawa | 49.1 | C - Above Average | 65↓ | — |
| #51 | Berrien | 48.9 | C - Above Average | 89↓ | — |
| #52 | Iosco | 48.3 | C - Above Average | 24→ | — |
| #53 | Newaygo | 48 | C - Above Average | 44↑ | — |
| #54 | Midland | 47.9 | C - Above Average | 28↑ | — |
| #55 | Ontonagon | 47.8 | C - Above Average | 18↓ | — |
| #56 | Huron | 47.6 | C - Above Average | 21↑ | — |
| #57 | Baraga | 47.1 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #58 | Chippewa | 46.8 | C - Above Average | 18→ | — |
| #59 | Mason | 46.7 | C - Above Average | 54↓ | — |
| #60 | Ionia | 46.1 | C - Above Average | 83↑ | — |
| #61 | Gogebic | 45.7 | C - Above Average | 19↓ | — |
| #62 | Schoolcraft | 45.7 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #63 | Cass | 44.8 | C - Above Average | 86↓ | — |
| #64 | Benzie | 44.3 | C - Above Average | 33→ | — |
| #65 | Bay | 43.9 | C - Above Average | 58↓ | — |
| #66 | Alger | 42.9 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #67 | Ogemaw | 42.7 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #68 | Macomb | 42.1 | C - Above Average | 78↓ | — |
| #69 | Keweenaw | 41.4 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #70 | Roscommon | 41.4 | C - Above Average | 34↑ | — |
| #71 | Emmet | 41.2 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #72 | Marquette | 40.2 | C - Above Average | 0→ | — |
| #73 | Lake | 40.1 | C - Above Average | 58↓ | — |
| #74 | Montmorency | 39.7 | D - Average | 34↓ | — |
| #75 | Luce | 39.5 | D - Average | 0→ | — |
| #76 | Grand Traverse | 38.2 | D - Average | 41↑ | — |
| #77 | Missaukee | 37.1 | D - Average | 46↑ | — |
| #78 | Kalkaska | 36.4 | D - Average | 0→ | — |
| #79 | St. Joseph | 32.3 | D - Average | 75↑ | — |
| #80 | Antrim | 31.2 | D - Average | 27↓ | — |
| #81 | Wexford | 28.1 | D - Average | 24↑ | — |
| #82 | Oscoda | 26.1 | D - Average | 0→ | — |
| #83 | Crawford | 20.4 | E - Below Average | 0→ | — |
Hunt it on the map
The same research, live on an onX-class hunting map, with statewide parcels, owner & acreage, public hunting land, leaf-off imagery, waypoints, and onX import.