Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 180,967. The county seat and most populous city is Howell. The county was set off in 1833, but for three years remained a part of Shiawassee and Washtenaw counties. It was organized in 1836. As one of Michigan's "Cabinet counties", a group of counties whose names honor members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, it is named after former U.S.