Jefferson County, Iowa

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Jefferson County, Iowa
Map
Location in the state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1839
Seat	Fairfield
Area - Total - Land - Water	437 sq mi (1,131 km²) 435 sq mi (1,128 km²) 1 sq mi (4 km²), 0.32%
Population - (2000) - Density	16,181 37/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of 2000, the population is 16,181. Its county seat is Fairfield.^[1]

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent counties
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Cities and towns
5 Law and government
6 External links
7 Notes

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,131 km²), of which, 435 square miles (1,128 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.32%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Keokuk County (northwest)
Washington County (northeast)
Henry County (east)
Van Buren County (south)
Wapello County (west)

[edit] History

Jefferson County was formed on January 21, 1839. It was named for the US President Thomas Jefferson.^[2]

[edit] Demographics

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Jefferson County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	17,437	—
1910	15,951	-8.5%
1920	16,440	3.1%
1930	16,241	-1.2%
1940	15,762	-2.9%
1950	15,696	-0.4%
1960	15,818	0.8%
1970	15,774	-0.3%
1980	16,316	3.4%
1990	16,310	-0.0%
2000	16,181	-0.8%
IA Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 16,181 people, 6,649 households, and 4,281 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 7,241 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.02% White, 0.64% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,649 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 29.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,851, and the median income for a family was $43,819. Males had a median income of $32,066 versus $22,479 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,579. About 7.40% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

Jefferson County Courthouse

[edit] Law and government

Jefferson County's executive branch is a three-member board of supervisors. Supervisors are elected to four-year terms. The current board members, their party affiliations and the years in which they were last elected are: Steve Burgmeier (Republican, 2004), Mike Pech (Republican, 2004), and Dick Reed (Republican, 2002). Other elected officials are Scott Reneker, county auditor; Jerry Droz, county sheriff; Connie Hedger, county treasurer; and Charlotte Fleig, county recorder.^{[citation needed]}