Ingham County has a population was 284,900, according to the 2020 census. The county seat is Mason. Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, is largely located within the county. (Lansing is the only state capital in the United States located in a county of which it is not also the seat of government.) The county is home to Michigan State University, Lansing Community College, and the Class A minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lugnuts. In It is considered to be a part of Mid Michigan.
Ingham County was established by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature on October 29, 1829, from portions of Shiawassee County, Washtenaw County and unorganized territory. It was attached for administrative purposes to Washtenaw County until 1838 when county government was established for Ingham.
The county was named for Samuel D. Ingham, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson, making Ingham one of Michigan's so-called Cabinet counties.