| Middlesex County, Connecticut | |
Location in the state of Connecticut |
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Connecticut's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1785 |
|---|---|
| Seat | none; since 1960 Connecticut counties no longer have a county government Middletown (1785-1960) |
| Largest city | Middletown |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
439.07 sq mi (1,137 km²) 369.26 sq mi (956 km²) 69.81 sq mi (181 km²), 15.90% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
165,676 449/sq mi (173.4/km²) |
| Congressional districts | 1st, 2nd, 3rd |
Middlesex County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was created in 1785 from portions of Hartford and New London counties. As of 2010, the population was 165,676.
As is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is now no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal, and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources, e.g. water, gas, etc. However, Middlesex County is merely a group of towns on a map, and no longer has any particular authority.
Contents |
There is no government in Middlesex County other than the Middlesex County Judicial District. All county functions other than courts and county sheriff's departments were discontinued in 1960, and again in 2000 when the county sheriff's departments were reorganized as the State of Connecticut judicial Marshall's department, due to political corruption in the county sheriff's departments. Joseph E. Bibisi was the last person ever to serve as high sheriff of middlesex county.
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 439.07 square miles (1,137.2 km2), of which 369.26 square miles (956.4 km2) (or 84.10%) is land and 69.81 square miles (180.8 km2) (or 15.90%) is water.[1]
The terrain trends from mostly level along the Connecticut River and Atlantic coast to gently rolling uplands away from them. The highest elevation is close to a triangulation station in Meshomasic State Forest, located at 916 feet (279 m) above sea level; the lowest point is sea level.
Middlesex County is also the home of Wadsworth Falls.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 18,828 |
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| 1800 | 19,874 | 5.6% | |
| 1810 | 20,723 | 4.3% | |
| 1820 | 22,405 | 8.1% | |
| 1830 | 24,844 | 10.9% | |
| 1840 | 24,879 | 0.1% | |
| 1850 | 27,216 | 9.4% | |
| 1860 | 30,859 | 13.4% | |
| 1870 | 36,099 | 17.0% | |
| 1880 | 35,589 | −1.4% | |
| 1890 | 39,524 | 11.1% | |
| 1900 | 41,760 | 5.7% | |
| 1910 | 45,637 | 9.3% | |
| 1920 | 47,550 | 4.2% | |
| 1930 | 51,388 | 8.1% | |
| 1940 | 55,999 | 9.0% | |
| 1950 | 67,332 | 20.2% | |
| 1960 | 88,865 | 32.0% | |
| 1970 | 114,816 | 29.2% | |
| 1980 | 129,017 | 12.4% | |
| 1990 | 143,196 | 11.0% | |
| 2000 | 155,071 | 8.3% | |
| 2010 | 165,676 | 6.8% | |
| [2][3][4] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 155,071 people, 61,341 households, and 40,607 families residing in the county. The population density was 420 people per square mile (162/km²). There were 67,285 housing units at an average density of 182 per square mile (70/km²). According to the Census of 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 89.22% White, 4.64% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 4.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.4% were of Italian, 14.3% Irish, 11.1% English, 8.9% Polish and 8.2% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.1% spoke English, 2.6% Spanish, 1.9% Italian, 1.2% French and 1.0% Polish as their first language.
There were 61,341 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.40% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $59,175, and the median income for a family was $71,319. Males had a median income of $48,341 versus $35,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,251. About 2.30% of families and 4.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.00% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.
* Villages are named localities within towns, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
| Hartford County | ||||
| New Haven County | New London County | |||
| Middlesex County, Connecticut | ||||
| Long Island Sound |
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