Fair Plain, Michigan

Fair Plain (also "Fairplain"

) is an unincorporated community in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes and has no legal status as a municipality. The population was 7,402 at the 2020 census.

History

The community was named for the scenic character of the original town site.

Fairplain Plaza, located on M-139 on the east edge of Fair Plain, was the first shopping center in the area, opening in 1958. The original Fairplain Plaza was largely demolished by the late 1990s, but was subsequently rebuilt and expanded using different architecture techniques.

There was a failed proposal to incorporate Fair Plain as a city in 1975.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.22%, is water.

The Fair Plain CDP consists of the portion of St. Joseph Charter Township lying northeast of the St. Joseph River and a portion of Benton Charter Township. The CDP's boundaries are the city of Benton Harbor to the north, the St. Joseph River to the west and south, and M-139 to the east.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Fair Plain CDP, Michigan – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|3,771

|3,194

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,186

|48.17%

|41.86%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |43.04%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|3,705

|3,924

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,279

|47.33%

|51.42%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |44.30%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|34

|23

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32

|0.43%

|0.30%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.43%

|Asian alone (NH)

|52

|64

|style='background: #ffffe6; |69

|0.66%

|0.84%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.93%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5

|0.06%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

|Other race alone (NH)

|23

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49

|0.29%

|0.08%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.66%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|107

|171

|style='background: #ffffe6; |374

|1.37%

|2.24%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.05%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|131

|249

|style='background: #ffffe6; |408

|1.67%

|3.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.51%

|Total

|7,828

|7,631

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,402

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Fair Plain had a population of 7,402. The median age was 44.4 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,281 households, of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.4% were married-couple households, 21.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.