Traer, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,594 at the 2000 census. James "Tama Jim" Wilson lived in Traer after serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and was buried in a cemetery northwest of the town in 1920. Traer is known for the iron winding staircase that originally lead to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding and connected to the building with a suspended walkway, a somewhat rare arrangement.

[edit] Geography

Traer is located at 42°11′29″N, 92°27′52″W (42.191495, -92.464374)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,594 people, 686 households, and 443 families residing in the city. The population density was 559.5/km² (1,446.4/mi²). There were 728 housing units at an average density of 255.5/km² (660.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.31% White, 0.31% African American, 0.13% Asian, and 0.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.13% of the population.

There were 686 households out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 28.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,329, and the median income for a family was $43,375. Males had a median income of $30,882 versus $20,670 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,811. About 4.9% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.