| Cassia County, Idaho | ||
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Location in the state of Idaho |
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Idaho's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | February 20, 1879 | |
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| Named for | Cassia Creek, named either for John Cazier, a member of the Mormon Battalion and an emigrant train captain, or for a plant found in the area. | |
| Seat | Burley | |
| Largest city | Burley | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
2,580.31 sq mi (6,683 km²) 2,566.45 sq mi (6,647 km²) 13.86 sq mi (36 km²), 0.54% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
22,952 8.3/sq mi (3.2/km²) |
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| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 | |
| Website | www.cassiacounty.org | |
Cassia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 22,952. The county seat and largest city is Burley.[1]
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Cassia County was created by the Idaho Territorial Legislature on February 20, 1879, by a partition of Owyhee County, with the county seat at Albion.[2] A western portion became Twin Falls County in 1907. The county assumed its present boundaries when an eastern portion became Power County on January 30, 1913. The county seat was moved to Burley in 1918. The county was named for Cassia Creek, which in turn was named either for John Cazier, a member of the Mormon Battalion and an emigrant train captain, or for a plant found in the area.
Similar to other Idaho counties, an elected three-member county commission heads the county government. Other elected officials include clerk, treasurer, sheriff, assessor, coroner, and prosecutor.
County Commission
Other Elected Officials
At the state level Cassia County is located entirely in Legislative District 27.[3] All of the District 27 delegation resides in Cassia County the district also includes Power, Oneida and part of Bingham Counties. The delegation includes Senator Denton Darrington of Declo, in Seat A Representative Scott Bedke of Oakley and in Seat B Representative Fred Wood of Burley. State legislators from the Magic Valley traditionally hold their seats for long periods of time, subsequently the delegation representing Cassia County is often in leadership or chairs important committees. From 1998 to 2006 Bruce Newcomb of Burley was the Speaker of the House. Currently, Representative Bedke is House Assistant Majority Leader, Senator Darrington, the Dean of the Senate, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee and Fred Wood sits on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
Cassia County is located in Idaho's 2nd congressional district and represented by Mike Simpson.
At every level Cassia County is a Republican Party stronghold. All county-level offices are held by Republicans and have been for decades. Republican primaries are tantamount to election to office as Democrats rarely field challenges for county or state legislative office. Cassia County is one of the most consistently Republican counties in the states and in the 2010 gubernatorial election Republican Butch Otter carried Cassia County with 76.54% to Democrat Kieth Allred's 16.73%.[4] In the presidential election of 2008 John McCain carried Cassia County with 80.4% while Barack Obama received 16.9%.[5] The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Cassia County was Franklin Roosevelt in the election of 1940 edging out Wendell Wilkie by around 100 votes.
Cassia County is served primarily by one school district, Cassia Joint School District #151, which was consolidated in the 1950s.
Public High Schools
Cassia County is part of the Burley, ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 2,580.31 square miles (6,683.0 km2), of which 2,566.45 square miles (6,647.1 km2) (or 99.46%) is land and 13.86 square miles (35.9 km2) (or 0.54%) is water.[6] The county's highest point is Cache Peak at an elevation of 10,339 feet (3,151 m) above sea level, and the lowest is Milner Lake, a reservoir on the Snake River, at 4,134 feet (1,260 m).
The northern half of the county is part of the Magic Valley region of the Snake River Plain, and numerous mountain ranges extend north from the southern boundary and diminish as they approach the river, which flows from east to west.
The Silent City of Rocks National Reserve, containing exposed granitic batholith as old as 2.5 billion years, is located in the southern part of the county.
See also: List of counties bordering eight counties
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 3,951 |
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| 1910 | 7,197 | 82.2% | |
| 1920 | 15,659 | 117.6% | |
| 1930 | 13,116 | −16.2% | |
| 1940 | 14,430 | 10.0% | |
| 1950 | 14,629 | 1.4% | |
| 1960 | 16,121 | 10.2% | |
| 1970 | 17,017 | 5.6% | |
| 1980 | 19,427 | 14.2% | |
| 1990 | 19,532 | 0.5% | |
| 2000 | 21,416 | 9.6% | |
| 2010 | 22,952 | 7.2% | |
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 21,416 people, 7,060 households, and 5,485 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 7,862 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.69% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 12.06% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. 18.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.1% were of English, 13.8% American and 12.9% German ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 7,060 households out of which 42.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.20% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.30% were non-families. 19.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.46.
In the county the population was spread out with 34.10% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,322, and the median income for a family was $38,162. Males had a median income of $29,132 versus $19,851 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,087. About 11.10% of families and 13.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.
| Jerome County | Minidoka County and Blaine County | Power County | ||
| Twin Falls County | Oneida County | |||
| Cassia County, Idaho | ||||
| Elko County, Nevada | Box Elder County, Utah |
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