This article is about the city of Battle Creek, Michigan. For other uses, see Battle Creek (disambiguation).

Battle Creek is a city in Calhoun County, Michigan. Battle Creek is situated on the historic U.S. 12 route, largely replaced in Michigan by Interstate 94.

It is the world headquarters of Kellogg Company (cereal), manufacturer of corn flakes and other breakfast cereals. It is also the home of Post Cereals, which was part of General Foods Corporation and is now part of Kraft Foods.

Battle Creek was featured in the T.C. Boyle novel The Road to Wellville and the movie of the same name. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,364.

Battle Creek is served by Kalamazoo's Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 113.1 km² (43.7 mi²). 110.9 km² (42.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.92% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 53,364 people, 21,348 households, and 13,363 families residing in the city. The population density is 481.1/km² (1,246.0/mi²). There are 23,525 housing units at an average density of 212.1/km² (549.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 74.65% White, 17.80% black or African American, 1.94% Asian, 0.77% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.11% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. 4.64% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 21,348 households out of which 32.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% are married couples living together, 16.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% are non-families. 31.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.43 and the average family size is 3.04.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $35,491, and the median income for a family is $43,564. Males have a median income of $36,838 versus $26,429 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,424. 14.4% of the population and 10.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.5% of those under the age of 18 and 11.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Sports teams

The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays, a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, plays in the Midwest League. The team was known as the Michigan Battle Cats until 2003 and as the Battle Creek Yankees until 2004. The team's home park is C. O. Brown Stadium.

Transportation

External link

• Official website (http://www.battlecreek.org/)