Wright County, Iowa

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Wright County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	information needed
Seat	Clarion
Area - Total - Land - Water	583 sq mi (1,509 km²) 581 sq mi (1,504 km²) 2 sq mi (5 km²), 0.31%
Population - (2000) - Density	14,334 25/sq mi (10/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website: www.wrightcounty.org

Wright County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of 2000, the population is 14,334. Its county seat is Clarion.^[1]

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent counties
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Cities and towns
5 Education
- 5.1 Primary and secondary
- 5.2 Tertiary
6 Wright County Fair
7 Newspapers
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 583 square miles (1,509 km²), of which, 581 square miles (1,504 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.31%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Hancock County (north)
Franklin County (east)
Hamilton County (south)
Webster County (southwest)
Humboldt County (west)

[edit] History

Wright County was formed on January 15, 1851. It was named after Silas Wright, a Governor of New York and for Joseph Albert Wright, a Governor of Indiana.^[2]

[edit] Demographics

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Wright County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	18,227	—
1910	17,951	-1.5%
1920	20,348	13.4%
1930	20,216	-0.6%
1940	20,038	-0.9%
1950	19,652	-1.9%
1960	19,447	-1.0%
1970	17,294	-11.1%
1980	16,319	-5.6%
1990	14,269	-12.6%
2000	14,334	0.5%
IA Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 14,334 people, 5,940 households, and 3,938 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 6,559 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.93% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 2.90% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 4.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,940 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,197, and the median income for a family was $44,043. Males had a median income of $29,398 versus $21,222 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,247. About 4.20% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.70% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and secondary

There are three school districts in Wright County with three high schools:

Clarion-Goldfield and Dows Community School District, in Clarion, Dows, and Goldfield^[4]
Eagle Grove Community School District, in Eagle Grove^[5]
Belmond-Klemme Community School District, in Belmond, Klemme, Goodell, and Rowan.^[6]

[edit] Tertiary

Iowa State University operates an extension office in Clarion, and the Iowa Central Community College and Buena Vista University plan to maintain a continuing education there. The county is part of the Iowa Central Community College district, except for the Belmond-Klemme school district, which is in the North Iowa Area Community College district.

[edit] Wright County Fair

The first Wright County Fair was held in Clarion. The old fairgrounds were located where Clarion's USA Healthcare Center stands today. For some unknown reason, in 1924 the fair in Clarion closed. It was moved to Goldfield in 1925 and then to its present location in Eagle Grove in 1926. The Wright County Fair was later renamed the Wright County District Junior Fair. Entries are open to children in Hamilton, Humboldt, Webster, Hardin, Franklin, and Wright Counties. ^[7]

[edit] Newspapers

Several small newspapers are published in Wright County, including the Wright County Monitor of Clarion. Other newspapers include the Eagle Grove Eagle, the Belmond Independent, the Dows Advocate, and the Clarion Monthly.