Winneshiek County, Iowa

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Winneshiek County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	information needed
Seat	Decorah
Area - Total - Land - Water	690 sq mi (1,787 km²) 690 sq mi (1,786 km²) 0 sq mi (1 km²), 0.04%
Population - (2000) - Density	21,310 31/sq mi (12/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of 2000, the population was 21,310. Its county seat is Decorah.^[1]

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Major highways
- 2.2 Adjacent counties
3 Demographics
4 Localities
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history from Czechoslovakian, English, Irish, German, Swiss, and Norwegian immigrants that have settled within its boundaries.

The county was originally settled in 1848 in present day Bloomfield Township (near Castalia, Iowa) and in Washington Township (near Fort Atkinson, Iowa). It was organized in 1847, and named after a chief of the Winnebago tribe.

In 1980, Winneshiek County reported a population of 21,842. Like much of Iowa during the 1980s it witnessed a population loss, plummeting to 20,847 according to the 1990 Unites States Census. However during the 1990s the county experienced some mild growth and was able to rise above the 21,000 mark once again.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 690 square miles (1,787 km²), of which, 690 square miles (1,786 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (1 km²) of it (0.04%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Winneshiek County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	23,731	—
1910	21,729	-8.4%
1920	22,091	1.7%
1930	21,630	-2.1%
1940	22,263	2.9%
1950	21,639	-2.8%
1960	21,651	0.1%
1970	21,758	0.5%
1980	21,876	0.5%
1990	20,847	-4.7%
2000	21,310	2.2%
IA Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 21,310 people, 7,734 households, and 5,189 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 8,208 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.85% White, 0.51% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.3% were of German, 31.7% Norwegian, 5.5% Irish and 5.1% Czech ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 7,734 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 5.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 16.70% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,908, and the median income for a family was $45,966. Males had a median income of $29,278 versus $21,240 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,047. About 5.10% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.