Gaastra is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 339. The city is named after Douwe Gaastra, a building contractor and real estate speculator who bought the land in October 1908 and platted the town. It was incorporated as a village in 1919 and as a city in 1949.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 339 people, 146 households, and 102 families residing in the city. The population density was 205.9 per square mile (79.3/km²). There were 164 housing units at an average density of 99.6 per square mile (38.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.35% White, 0.59% Native American, 0.59% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population. 22.0% were of Italian, 20.1% Polish, 13.9% Finnish, 10.6% French and 8.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.3% spoke English and 2.7% Polish as their first language.

There were 146 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,125, and the median income for a family was $35,521. Males had a median income of $24,750 versus $29,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,797. About 21.2% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.5% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.