Benton County, Iowa

Benton County, Iowa
Location in the state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	1837
Seat	Vinton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	718.45 sq mi (1,861 km²) 716.39 sq mi (1,855 km²) 2.06 sq mi (5 km²), 0.29%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	26,076 36.4/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.cobentoniaus.com
Footnotes: Population [1]

Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. Its county seat is Vinton.^[2] The county is named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from Missouri. It is one of the three counties that make up the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[3] The population was 26,076 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,308 in 2000.^[1][4]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 718.45 square miles (1,860.8 km²), of which 716.39 square miles (1,855.4 km²) (or 99.71%) is land and 2.06 square miles (5.3 km²) (or 0.29%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

Interstate 380/Iowa Highway 27 U.S. Highway 30 U.S. Highway 151 U.S. Highway 218

Iowa Highway 8 Iowa Highway 21 Iowa Highway 150

Adjacent counties

• Black Hawk County (northwest)
• Buchanan County (northeast)
• Linn County (east)
• Iowa County (south)
• Tama County (west)

History

Benton County was formed on December 21, 1837 from sections of Dubuque County. It was named after US Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	672		—
1860	8,496		1,164.3%
1870	22,454		164.3%
1880	24,888		10.8%
1890	24,178		−2.9%
1900	25,177		4.1%
1910	23,156		−8.0%
1920	24,080		4.0%
1930	22,851		−5.1%
1940	22,879		0.1%
1950	22,656		−1.0%
1960	23,422		3.4%
1970	22,885		−2.3%
1980	23,649		3.3%
1990	22,429		−5.2%
2000	25,308		12.8%
2010	26,076		3.0%
Iowa Data Center [4]

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,076 in the county, with a population density of 36.419/sq mi (14.061/km²). There were 11,095 housing units, of which 10,302 were occupied.^[1]

2000 census

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Benton County.

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 25,308 people, 9,746 households, and 7,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 10,377 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.84% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,746 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,427, and the median income for a family was $49,701. Males had a median income of $35,044 versus $23,978 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,891. About 4.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Localities

Cities

Atkins Belle Plaine Blairstown Garrison

Keystone Luzerne Mount Auburn Newhall

Norway Shellsburg Urbana

Van Horne Vinton Walford

Townships

Benton County is divided into twenty townships:

Benton Big Grove Bruce Canton Cedar

Eden Eldorado Florence Fremont Harrison

Homer Iowa Jackson Kane Leroy

Monroe Polk St. Clair Taylor Union

Unincorporated community

• Watkins

See also

• Benton County Courthouse (Iowa)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Benton County, Iowa

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State -- County". United States Census Bureau American FactFinder. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved March 6, 2011. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ United States Office of Management and Budget. "Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses" (PDF). pp. 5, 36.. Archived from the original on 2006-05-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20060514003222/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2006/b06-01.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-21. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Data from the 2010 Census". State Data Center of Iowa. http://www.iowadatacenter.org/archive/2011/02/feb10. Retrieved March 6, 2011. 
5. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Coordinates: 42°04′47″N 92°04′03″W / 42.07972°N 92.0675°W / 42.07972; -92.0675