Greene County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

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 so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,771. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Jefferson. The county is named in honor of General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

History

Greene County was formed on January 15, 1851, and from 1854, self-governed. It was named after General

, a hero in the Revolutionary War. The first European settler was Truman Davis. He settled on the

Raccoon River The Raccoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the long ...

. The first courthouse was built in 1856 from wood. Previously, court was held in a log cabin southeast of Jefferson. The second courthouse, of red brick, was built in 1870. The present Greene County Courthouse used today was built in 1917.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 30 * Circle sign 4

Iowa Highway 4 * Elongated circle 25

Iowa Highway 25 Iowa Highway 25 (Iowa 25) is a north–south highway in the southwest and west-central portion of the state. It begins at Iowa Highway 2, Iowa 2 south of Clearfield, Iowa, Clearfield. It heads north along a two-lane road throu ...

Iowa Highway 144

Adjacent counties

* Calhoun County (northwest) * Webster County (northeast) * Boone County (east) * Dallas County (southeast) * Guthrie County (south) * Carroll County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 8,771 in the county, with a population density of . 96.21% of the population reported being of one race. 91.23% were non-Hispanic White, 0.32% were Black, 2.92% were Hispanic, 0.18% were Native American, 0.57% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.77% were some other race or more than one race. There were 4,309 housing units, of which 3,802 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,336 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,546 housing units, of which 3,996 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 10,366 people, 4,205 households, and 2,859 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 4,623 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.16%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.14%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.67% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 1.66% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 4,205 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.00% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,883, and the median income for a family was $41,230. Males had a median income of $29,076 versus $21,657 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,866. About 4.80% of families and 8.10% 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 ...

, including 8.90% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

* Churdan * Dana * Grand Junction * Jefferson * Paton * Ralston * Rippey *

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

Unincorporated community

* Cooper

Townships

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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 ...

* Dawson * Franklin * Grant * Greenbrier * Hardin *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

* Jefferson * Junction *

Kendrick Kendrick may refer to: *Kendrick (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Places United States *Kendrick, Florida *Kendrick, Idaho *Kendrick, Oklahoma Schools *Kendrick School, in Reading, Berkshire, England, United King ...

* Paton *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Population ranking

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

Notable people

* George Horace Gallup (1901–1984), former resident, American statistician, invented the

Gallup poll Gallup, Inc. is an American multinational analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Gallup provides analytics and man ...

, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion. * Loren Shriver (b. 1944), former resident, American astronaut, retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

colonel. * Warren Allen Smith (1921–2017), former resident, American homosexual activist, writer and humanist. * Doreen Wilber (1930–2008), former resident, American archer, Olympic gold medalist.

Politics

References

External links

County website
{{coord, 42, 02, 07, N, 94, 23, 44, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1851