Houghton is sometimes confused with, or thought to be close to, Houghton Lake; the latter is actually located in the state's Lower Peninsula. Due to its location in the northwestern portion of the Upper Peninsula, Houghton is isolated from the state's most populous areas. It is farther to travel from Houghton to Detroit than it is from Detroit to Washington, DC, or Louisville, Kentucky.
Houghton was named after Houghton County, which was named after Douglass Houghton.
The area lends itself to a wide variety of outdoor sports, both winter (ice hockey, Nordic and Alpine skiing, figure skating, and snowmobiling) and summer (trail running, hiking, camping, river and sea kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and road and mountain biking).
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,010 people, 2,114 households, and 877 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,625.5 per square mile (628.0/km²). There were 2,222 housing units at an average density of 515.2/sq mi (199.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.24% White, 1.87% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 6.79% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.4% were of German, 12.7% Finnish, 8.2% Irish, 8.0% English, 6.0% Polish and 5.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.8% spoke English, 1.8% Spanish and 1.2% Chinese as their first language.
There were 2,114 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. Note that the United States Census Bureau does not consider people living in communal arrangements, such as university dormitories, to be part of a household; this is relevant in a community with a large student presence such as Houghton.
The age distribution was 12.0% under the age of 18, 55.2% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 160.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 173.2 males. The unusual age and sex distribution can be explained by the presence of Michigan Tech, a university focused strongly on the traditionally male-dominated field of engineering.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,186, and the median income for a family was $41,779. Males had a median income of $36,161 versus $28,639 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,750. About 20.3% of families and 36.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.
The local school district is Houghton-Portage Township Schools. Students K-12 are served by Houghton Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High (9-12) Schools. Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University.
Houghton Motor Transit operates both a demand bus and a route bus throughout Houghton and in nearby parts of Portage Township; there are also night trips to Mont Ripley in Ripley.
Houghton is the port of departure for Isle Royale National Park. Cruise ships on the great lakes formerly (in the 1950s) used to frequently stop in Houghton, but this is now an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Houghton was formerly served by airship. A seaplane departs from Houghton to Isle Royale National Park.
Snowmobiling is a major winter activity in the area, both locally (snowmobiles are often the best available means of transportation after a blizzard) and as a tourist industry. The Bill Nichols Snowmobile Trail has a terminus in Houghton.
Power for Houghton is provided by the Upper Peninsula Power Company.