Wapello is a city in and 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 ...

of Louisa County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 2,084 at the time of the 2020 census. Wapello is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Wapello was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in the late 1830s. The city's namesake is Wapello, a

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

chief.

Geography

Wapello is located on the west side of the

Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and i ...

. US Route 61 passes through the community. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Wapello is on the

Demographics

2020 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 2020, there were 2,084 people, 837 households, and 543 families residing in the city. 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 1,664.0 inhabitants per square mile (642.5/km²). There were 900 housing units at an average density of 718.6 per square mile (277.5/km²). The

racial 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 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 86.6%

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 ...

, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 5.4% from other races and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 10.1% of the population. Of the 837 households, 29.7% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% 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, 7.0% were cohabitating couples, 28.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 14.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 35.1% of all households were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 43.2 years. 24.7% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.8% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 and 44; 24.8% were from 45 and 64; and 23.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 2,067 people, 825 households, and 544 families living in the city. The

was . There were 889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.2%

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 3.4% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.

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 were 8.2% of the population. There were 825 households, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.1% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age in the city was 40 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.2% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 17.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,124 people, 836 households, and 572 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 893 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.28%

, 0.09%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 2.82% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 6.92% of the population. There were 836 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were

living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02. 25.0% are under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,556, and the median income for a family was $45,395. Males had a median income of $31,346 versus $21,220 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 city was $17,947. About 10.0% of families and 14.3% 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 25.4% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Wapello Community School District operates area public schools.

Notable person

* Edwin Richley Hicklin,

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

References

External links

City website
{{authority control Cities in Louisa County, Iowa Cities in Iowa County seats in Iowa Muscatine, Iowa micropolitan area