Bear Lake County, Idaho

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**Bear Lake County, Idaho**
This template should be replaced with Template:Infobox U.S. County
Seal
Map
Location in the state of Idaho
Statistics
Formed	January 5, 1875
Seat	Paris
License plate	2B
Area - Total - Land - Water	2,718 km² (1,049 mi²) 202 km² (78 mi²) 7.44%
Population - (2005 est.) - Density	6,176 3/km²
Website: www.bearlakecounty.info

Bear Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 (2005 estimate: 6,176) [1]. The county seat is Paris ⁶. Montpelier is the county's largest city.

The county is named after Bear Lake, a 20-mile-long lake half in Idaho, and half in Utah.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent Counties
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Cities and towns

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,718 km² (1,049 mi²). 2,516 km² (971 mi²) of it is land and 202 km² (78 mi²) of it (7.44%) is water. The county is centered around Bear Lake Valley and includes the surrounding mountain ranges. The valley is high in the mountains, with its lowest elevation at about 5900 feet above sea level. The highest point in the county is Meade Peak at 9,957 feet above sea level.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] History

The first settlement in the county, and in Bear Lake Valley was Paris, which was settled by Mormon pioneers on September 26, 1863. 30 families comprised the original settlement. In the spring of 1864, Montpelier was settled on the other side of the valley on the Oregon Trail. The railroad was extended through Montpelier in 1892. Bear Lake County was established in 1893 and was named after a lake in the county.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 6,411 people, 2,259 households, and 1,710 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/km² (7/mi²). There were 3,268 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (3/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.66% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 2.40% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,259 households out of which 38.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.90% were married couples living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 22.40% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,162, and the median income for a family was $38,351. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $17,829 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,592. About 7.10% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

	State of Idaho Boise (capital)
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Regions	Boise metropolitan area \| Central Idaho \| Eastern Idaho \| Idaho Panhandle \| Inland Empire \| Magic Valley \| North Central Idaho \| Northern Idaho \| Southern Idaho \| Treasure Valley \| Wood River Valley
Larger cities	Boise \| Coeur d'Alene \| Idaho Falls \| Lewiston \| Meridian \| Nampa \| Pocatello \| Twin Falls
Smaller cities	Blackfoot \| Burley \| Caldwell \| Chubbuck \| Eagle \| Garden City \| Hayden \| Jerome \| Moscow \| Mountain Home \| Post Falls \| Rexburg \| Sandpoint
Counties	Ada \| Adams \| Bannock \| Bear Lake \| Benewah \| Bingham \| Blaine \| Boise \| Bonner \| Bonneville \| Boundary \| Butte \| Camas \| Canyon \| Caribou \| Cassia \| Clark \| Clearwater \| Custer \| Elmore \| Franklin \| Fremont \| Gem \| Gooding \| Idaho \| Jefferson \| Jerome \| Kootenai \| Latah \| Lemhi \| Lewis \| Lincoln \| Madison \| Minidoka \| Nez Perce \| Oneida \| Owyhee \| Payette \| Power \| Shoshone \| Teton \| Twin Falls \| Valley \| Washington