Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its

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 Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a part of the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. Racine County comprises the Racine

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 as a city or tow ...

. This area is part of the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha combined statistical area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (58%) is water. The county's unemployment rate was 5.6% in June 2021.

History

The Potawatomi people occupied the area of Racine County until European settlement. The

legislature established Racine County in 1836, separating it from Milwaukee County. Racine County originally extended to Wisconsin's southern border and encompassed the land that is now Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Kenosha County was created as a separate entity in 1850.

Geography

* Milwaukee County (north) *

Ottawa County, Michigan Ottawa County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, the population was 296,200. The county seat is Grand Haven. The county is named for the Ottawa Nation. It was set off in 1831 and organi ...

(northeast) *

Allegan County, Michigan Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. Alle ...

(southeast) * Kenosha County (south) * Walworth County (west) *

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

(northwest) The Root River is the county's namesake.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 197,727. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was . There were 84,490 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 72.0%

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 o ...

, 11.8%

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 ...

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 ...

, 1.2% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 5.4% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 9.0% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 14.1%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 188,831 people, 70,819 households, and 49,856 families residing in the county. The

was 567 people per square mile (219/km²). There were 74,718 housing units at an average density of 224 per square mile (87/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.04%

, 10.47%

, 0.36% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.69% from

, and 1.67% from two or more races. 7.94% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 32.9% were of German, 7.4% Polish and 5.5%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry. There were 70,819 households, of which 34.5% had children under 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.09. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Railroads

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

* Sturtevant station

Buses

* Ryde Racine *

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

Airports

* John H. Batten Airport (KRAC) serves the county and surrounding communities. * Burlington Municipal Airport (KBUU) enhances county service. * Cindy Guntly Memorial Airport (62C) enhances county service. * Fox River Airport (96C) enhances county service. *

Sylvania Airport Sylvania Airport is a privately owned public use airport located 3 miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Sturtevant, Wisconsin, a community in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. Although most airports in the Un ...

(C89) enhances county service.

Communities

Racine County census map of municipalities

Cities

* Burlington (partly in Walworth County) * Racine (county seat)

Villages

* Caledonia * Elmwood Park * Mount Pleasant * North Bay * Raymond *

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

* Sturtevant * Union Grove *

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

* Wind Point * Yorkville

Towns

* Burlington * Dover *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Census-designated places

* Bohners Lake (Town of Burlington) * Browns Lake (Town of Burlington) *

Eagle Lake Eagle Lake may refer to: Cities, towns, townships etc. Canada * Eagle Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario * Eagle Lake, Parry Sound District, Ontario * Eagle Lake 27, Ontario (Indian reserve) * Eagle Lake, Kenora District, Ontario United States * ...

(Town of Dover) * Tichigan (Town of Waterford) *

Wind Lake Wind Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,355 at the 2020 census. Wind Lake is in the town of Norway. Geography Wind Lake is located at (42.821952, -88.157810). According to t ...

(Town of Norway)

Unincorporated communities

Buena Park Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...

* Caldwell * Cedar Park * Eagle Lake Manor * Eagle Lake Terrace * Franksville * Honey Creek (partial) *

Honey Lake Honey Lake is an endorheic sink in the Honey Lake Valley in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of and creates an alkali flat. Honey Lake dries almost completely in most years. H ...

(partial) * Husher * Ives Grove * Kansasville * North Cape * Raymond * Tichigan * Union Church * Yorkville

Ghost towns/neighborhoods

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

* DeNoon * Kneeland * Muskego Settlement * Raymond Center *

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

* Sylvania

Government

The County Board has 21 members, each elected from single-member districts.Racine County Website, The county executive is elected in a countywide vote. The county executive is Jonathan Delagrave. The Circuit Court is made up of ten judges, elected in countywide elections to six-year terms.

Politics

Racine County has been a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

county, having voted for the winning presidential candidate in 28 of the last 33 elections since 1896 despite its solidly Democratic county seat, Racine, Wisconsin. The only exceptions to this were when it voted for

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

, Gerald Ford in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, Michael Dukakis in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

References

External links

*
Racine County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation {{authority control 1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1836