Westby, Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Westby is a city in Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,045 at the 2000 census. Westby is named after general store owner and Civil War Union soldier Ole T. Westby of Vestby, Norway, from whence many of its original Norwegian-American settlers emigrated.

[edit] Geography

Westby is located at 43°39′14″N, 90°51′33″W (43.653861, -90.859034)^GR1, at the headwaters of the Bad Axe River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 km² (2.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,045 people, 840 households, and 554 families residing in the city. The population density was 324.9/km² (841.9/mi²). There were 906 housing units at an average density of 144.0/km² (373.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.12% White (mostly Norwegian-American), 0.24% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 0.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 840 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,340, and the median income for a family was $41,000. Males had a median income of $29,274 versus $21,429 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,839. About 4.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.