Woodbury 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 ...

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 sove ...

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 105,941, making it the sixth-most populous county in Iowa. 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 ...

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

. Woodbury County is included in the

Sioux City metropolitan area The Sioux City metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in three states – Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, anchored by the city of Sioux City, Iowa. As of the 2010 c ...

History

Originally established in 1851 as Wahkaw County, the Iowa

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

in 1853 changed the name to Woodbury County in honor of

Levi Woodbury Levi Woodbury (December 22, 1789September 4, 1851) was an American attorney, jurist, and Democratic politician from New Hampshire. During a four-decade career in public office, Woodbury served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U ...

(1789–1851), a senator and

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1844 until his death. The first county seat of Wahkaw County was the now-extinct village of Thompsonville; when the Legislature changed the county name to Woodbury, the new county seat became Sergeant's Bluff (now

Sergeant Bluff Sergeant Bluff is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA– NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,015 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city was named in honor o ...

). The county seat was moved to Sioux City in 1856. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska ( Ho-Chunk) owns reservation land in Woodbury County.

Geography

The county is on the western edge of Iowa, with its western border being the Missouri River. 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 a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. It is the third-largest county by area in Iowa.

Major highways

Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...

Interstate 129 Interstate 129 (I-129) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway which connects South Sioux City to I-29 in Sioux City, Iowa. Opened in 1976, I-129 is a route, running in Nebraska. At , I-129 is the shortest highway in the state of Iowa. All of ...

U.S. Highway 20 * US 75

U.S. Highway 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other sid ...

U.S. Highway 77 * Elongated circle 12

Iowa Highway 12 Iowa Highway 12 (Iowa 12) is a state highway that runs from north to south in northwestern Iowa. The highway begins in eastern Sioux City at U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) and US 75. For the first of the route, Iowa 12 is an u ...

Iowa Highway 31 Iowa Highway 31 (Iowa 31) is a diagonal state highway which runs from Iowa Highway 141 (Iowa 141) in Smithland to U.S. Highway 59 (US 59) east of Quimby. For most of its length, the highway runs parallel to the Little Sioux River. ...

Iowa Highway 140 Iowa Highway 140 (Iowa 140) is a state highway in northwestern Iowa. The route begins at U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) at Moville. It heads northeast and then due north; it ends at Iowa 3 near Remsen. Route description Iowa Hig ...

Iowa Highway 141 Iowa Highway 141 (Iowa 141) is an east–west highway in the western and central portions of the state. It is the most direct link between Sioux City and Des Moines. It also serves as a freeway link between Des Moines and the outlying comm ...

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 ...

Transit

* Sioux City Transit *

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

* Plymouth County (north) *

Cherokee County Cherokee County is the name of eight counties in the United States: * Cherokee County, Alabama * Cherokee County, Georgia * Cherokee County, Iowa * Cherokee County, Kansas * Cherokee County, North Carolina * Cherokee County, Oklahoma * Cherokee Co ...

(northeast) * Ida County (east) * Monona County (south) *

Thurston County, Nebraska Thurston County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 6,940. Its county seat is Pender. In the Nebraska license plate system, Thurston County is represented by the prefix 55 (it had ...

(southwest) *

Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the population was 21,582. Its county seat is Dakota City. Dakota County is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. In th ...

(west) *

Union County, South Dakota Union County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 16,811, making it the 13th most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat has been Elk Point since April ...

(northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 105,941 in the county, with a population density of . 90.93% of the population reported being of one race. There were 42,701 housing units, of which 39,904 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 102,172 in the county, with a population density of . There were 41,454 housing units, of which 39,052 were occupied.

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 103,877 people, 39,151 households, and 26,426 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile (46/km²). There were 41,394 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.48%

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 ...

, 2.02%

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 ...

, 1.69% Native American, 2.41%

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 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 ...

, 4.37% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 9.11% of the population 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 39,151 households, 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were married couples living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 26.60% of households were one person and 11.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.13. The age distribution was 27.30% under the age of 18, 10.20% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males. The median household income was $38,509 and the median family income was $46,499. Males had a median income of $31,664 versus $22,599 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,771. About 7.20% of families and 10.30% 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 13.60% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

For much of the second half of the 20th century, Woodbury County tilted Republican, albeit not as overwhelmingly as most of western Iowa. Between 1988 and 2012 Woodbury County was the quintessential swing county in Iowa. No candidate won it by more than 3.5% over that quarter-century. This was the only county in Iowa that

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

won in 2012 that he failed to carry in 2008. However, in 2016, Woodbury County swung over dramatically to

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 Pe ...

, who carried it by a 22 percent margin, the largest margin of victory since Lyndon Johnson's landslide election in 1964.

Communities

Cities

* Anthon * Bronson * Correctionville * Cushing *

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

* Hornick * Lawton *

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

* Moville *

Oto Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to: People * Oto (name), including a list of people with the name *The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people Places *Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon * Otorohanga, a to ...

* Pierson *

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

* Sloan * Smithland

Unincorporated communities

* Climbing Hill (a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

) *

Discord Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...

* Holly Springs * Midway *OwegoOwego - google maps
/ref>

Townships

* Arlington *

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

* Floyd *

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

* Kedron * Lakeport *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

* Liston * Little Sioux *

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

* Morgan * Moville *

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

* Rutland *

* Sloan *

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 ...

* West Fork *

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

* Wolf Creek *

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

Population ranking

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

References

External links

Woodbury County government's website
{{Coord, 42, 23, 29, N, 96, 03, 03, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Sioux City metropolitan area Iowa counties on the Missouri River Populated places established in 1851