Nez Perce County, Idaho

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Nez Perce County, Idaho
Map
Location in the state of Idaho
Idaho's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	February 4, 1864
Seat	Lewiston
Area - Total - Land - Water	856 sq mi (2,218 km²) 849 sq mi (2,199 km²) 7 sq mi (19 km²), 0.85%
Population - (2000) - Density	37,410 17/sq mi (7/km²)
Website: www.co.nezperce.id.us
Named for: The Nez Percé tribe of Native Americans

Nez Perce County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 37,410 (2005 estimate: 37,931) [1]. The county seat is Lewiston^[1]. The county is named for the Nez Percé tribe of Native Americans.

Nez Perce County was originally organized in 1861 when the area was part of Washington Territory. It was reorganized in 1864 by the Idaho Territorial Legislature.

Nez Perce County is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of both Nez Perce County in Idaho and Asotin County in Washington.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
- 3.1 Unincorporated community
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Geography

Two rivers, the Clearwater River and the Snake River, run through the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 856 square miles (2,218 km²), of which, 849 square miles (2,199 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (19 km²) of it (0.85%) is water. It is part of the Palouse, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] National protected areas

Clearwater National Forest (part)
Nez Perce National Historical Park (part)
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (part)

[edit] Demographics

**Nez Perce County**

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 37,410 people, 15,286 households, and 10,149 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 16,203 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.58% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 5.31% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. 1.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.1% were of German, 11.3% English, 11.0% American, 8.9% Irish and 5.6% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 15,286 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,282, and the median income for a family was $44,212. Males had a median income of $34,688 versus $23,014 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,544. About 8.60% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.