Cresco, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cresco is a city in Howard County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,905 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County^GR6.

Cresco is the hometown of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, Ellen Church, the world's first flight attendant, and legendary Iowa State University wrestling coach Harold Nichols.

Edward Howard was born in Cresco. He became Archbishop of Portland, Oregon. When he died at age 105 he was among the oldest Catholic bishops on record.

Cresco is home to one of the largest school districts in Iowa in terms of square miles, the Howard-Winneshiek Community Schools. The high school is called Crestwood.

Although Cresco is no longer on a railroad line, it is home to a restored Milwaukee Road FP7 diesel engine which is known as the Heritage Train and displayed in a park (Beadle Park) at the center of the city on Highway 9.

[edit] Geography

Cresco is located at 43°22′28″N, 92°6′54″W (43.374491, -92.115121)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 km² (3.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,905 people, 1,652 households, and 1,004 families residing in the city. The population density was 456.9/km² (1,184.1/mi²). There were 1,791 housing units at an average density of 209.5/km² (543.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.77% White, 0.23% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 1,652 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,236, and the median income for a family was $43,682. Males had a median income of $30,088 versus $21,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,190. About 2.1% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.