Spencer, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spencer is a city in Clay County, Iowa, United States, at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,317 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County^GR6. Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair, held annually in September. The fair averages 300,000 visitors per year.

[edit] Geography

Spencer is located at 43°8′43″N, 95°8′50″W (43.145318, -95.147209)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.3 km² (10.2 mi²). 26.2 km² (10.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.49%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 11,317 people, 4,842 households, and 3,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 431.8/km² (1,118.1/mi²). There were 5,151 housing units at an average density of 196.5/km² (508.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.57% White, 0.14% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% of the population.

There were 4,842 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,970, and the median income for a family was $43,145. Males had a median income of $30,537 versus $21,709 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,153. About 7.3% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.