Black Hawk County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the northeastern part of

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 131,144, making it Iowa's fifth-most populous county. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Waterloo. Black Hawk County is part of the Waterloo- Cedar Falls, IA

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Black Hawk County was formed on February 17, 1853, from sections of Buchanan County. It was named after

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...

, a Sauk leader during the 1832

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. The Cedar River roughly divides the county in half from the northwest to the southeast corner. The land is mostly level since much of it is on the river's

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

Major highways

Interstate 380 * US 20

U.S. Highway 20 * US 63

U.S. Highway 63 * US 218

U.S. Highway 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles C ...

Iowa Highway 21 Iowa Highway 21 (Iowa 21) is a state highway that runs from north to south in central Iowa. It has a length of . Iowa 21 begins at Iowa 149 west of Hedrick and ends at a freeway interchange with U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) in Wa ...

Iowa Highway 27 O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...

Iowa Highway 57 Iowa Highway 57 is a state highway that runs from west to east in northern Iowa. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 65 northeast of Iowa Falls. Its eastern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Highway 218, Iowa Highway 27, and Iowa High ...

Iowa Highway 58 Iowa Highway 58 (Iowa 58) is a state highway that runs from north to south in northeast Iowa. A portion of the highway is overlapped by the Avenue of the Saints. Iowa 58 begins at U.S. Highway 63 (US 63) in Hudson and ends at an interch ...

Iowa Highway 175 Iowa Highway 175 (Iowa 175) is a main east–west route in the northern portion of the state. The highway has a length of . Iowa Highway 175 enters the state by a Missouri River crossing between Decatur, Nebraska and Onawa. The highway co ...

Iowa Highway 281 Iowa Highway 281 (Iowa 281) is a state highway in north-central Iowa. Iowa 281 begins at the eastern city limits of Waterloo and ends at Iowa Highway 150 south of Oelwein. Route description Iowa Highway 281 begins at the eastern city limits o ...

Transit

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County, marketed as MET Transit, is the primary provider of mass transportation in the cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa. The agency was founded in 1972, after the private National City Lin ...

List of intercity bus stops in Iowa The following is a list of presently operating intercity bus stops in Iowa with regular service. The list excludes charter buses, local transit buses, paratransit systems, and trolleybus systems. The following companies provide intercity bus servic ...

Adjacent counties

* Bremer County (north) * Buchanan County (east) * Benton County (southeast) *

Tama County Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. Its county seat is Toledo. The county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki Indians. Geog ...

(southwest) * Grundy County (west) * Butler County (northwest) * Fayette County (northeast)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 131,144 in the county, with a population density of . 94.55% of the population reported being of one race. 73.49% were non-Hispanic White, 10.43% were Black, 4.92% were Hispanic, 0.32% were Native American, 2.61% were Asian, 0.65% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 7.57% were some other race or more than one race. There were 58,559 housing units of which 54,223 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 131,090 in the county, with a population density of . There were 55,887 housing units, of which 52,470 were occupied.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 128,012 people, 49,683 households, and 31,946 families in the county. The population density was . There were 51,759 housing units at an average density of 91 per square mile (35/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 88.42%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 7.95%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.98%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.93% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. 1.84%. were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. Of the 49,683 households 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.20% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 27.10% of households were one person and 10.90% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. Age spread: 23.10% under the age of 18, 15.70% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.80 males. The median household income was $37,266 and the median family income was $47,398. Males had a median income of $33,138 versus $23,394 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,885. About 7.90% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Cedar Falls * Dunkerton * Elk Run Heights * Evansdale * Gilbertville *

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

* Janesville * Jesup * La Porte City *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

* Waterloo

Census-designated place

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

Other unincorporated communities

Blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...

* Dewar * Eagle Center * Finchford *

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

* Voorhies

Townships

Black Hawk County is divided into seventeen

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

: *

Barclay Barclay may refer to: People * Barclay (surname) * Clan Barclay Places * Barclay, Kansas * Barclay, Maryland, a town in Queen Anne's County * Barclay, Baltimore, Maryland, a neighborhood * Barclay, Nevada, a town in Lincoln County * Barclay, ...

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

* Big Creek *

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

* Cedar Falls *

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

* East Waterloo *

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Lester Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from Wisc ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

* Poyner *

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Black Hawk County. † ''county seat''

Politics

Black Hawk County has been a Democratic stronghold in Iowa since the late 1980s. In presidential politics, it is one of the most Democratic counties in Iowa. As the state swung hard to the right in the 2010s and 2020s, Black Hawk County -- as a major population center, in accordance with most other population centers nationwide -- has remained staunchly Democratic.

References

External links

Black Hawk County government's website
{{Authority control Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area 1843 establishments in Iowa Territory Populated places established in 1843