The city is locally noted for production of cheese products, especially the eponymous Pinconning cheese.
M-13 passes directly through Pinconning, and I-75 is only three miles from the heart of the city. Pinconning Area Schools has one high school (Pinconning Area High School), a middle school that shares a building with the high school, and three elementary schools. The school district [1] covers a large portion of northern Bay County, including Pinconning, Linwood, Garfield, Mt. Forest, and Bentley, and part of eastern Gladwin County, including Estey and Rhodes. The Pinconning Spartans high school softball team won state championships in 1989, 1993, and 2000. The volleyball team won a state championship in 1992. The Pinconning Boys Varsity Bowling Team won the State Championship in 2008, with Chad Skinner qualifying second individually while leading Pinconning to a regional title.
A weekly newspaper, The Pinconning Journal, is published, and can be mailed around the country.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,386 people, 609 households, and 356 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,594.9 per square mile (615.1/km²). There were 645 housing units at an average density of 742.2/sq mi (286.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.40% White, 0.07% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.25% of the population.
There were 609 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,188, and the median income for a family was $33,646. Males had a median income of $32,344 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,210. About 15.0% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.