Chippewa County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 38,520. The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie. The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and was set off and organized in 1826. Chippewa County comprises the Sault Ste. Marie, MI micropolitan statistical area.