Eau Claire County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 ...

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, the population was 105,710. 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 Eau Claire. The county took its name from the Eau Claire River. Eau Claire County is included in the Eau Claire, WI

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 ...

as well as the Eau Claire- Menomonie WI

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

Eau Claire county was originally set off as the Town of Clearwater in Chippewa County in 1855. The name was changed to the Town of Eau Claire on March 31, 1856. The entire town was separated as Eau Claire County by an act of the Wisconsin State Legislature on October 6, 1856.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Chippewa County – north * Clark County – east * Jackson County – southeast *

Trempealeau County Trempealeau County (, ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,760. Its county seat is Whitehall. Many people of Hispanic, Polish, Norwegian and German descent live in this area. History Patche ...

– south * Buffalo County – southwest * Pepin County – west * Dunn County – west

Demographics and religion statistics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 105,710. 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 44,966 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.2%

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 ...

, 4.2% Asian, 1.2%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.1%

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 ...

, 1.1% 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 4.7% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.9%

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 93,142 people, 35,822 households, and 22,281 families residing in the county. The

was . There were 37,474 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile (23/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96%

, 0.52%

, 0.54% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.03%

, 0.33% from

, and 1.11% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 37.4% were of German, 21.5%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and 7.0%

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. 94.2% spoke English, 1.6%

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

, 1.6%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and 1.0% German as their first language. There were 35,822 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.40% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males. In 2017, there were 1,191 births, giving a general fertility rate of 52.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the tenth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 99 of the births occurred at home, the third highest for Wisconsin counties. In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents were Catholic at 16,240 adherents, ELCA Lutheran at 15,067 adherents, Missouri Synod Lutheran at 6,953 adherents, LCMC Lutheran at 3,355 adherents, United Methodist at 2,177 adherents, non-denominational Christian at 1,557 adherents, Lutheran Brethren at 1,391 adherents, United Church of Christ at 1,046 adherents, Assemblies of God at 969 adherents, Amish at 794 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 757 adherents, ELS Lutheran at 708 adherents, and LDS (Mormon) at 703 adherents.

Transportation

Major highways

Railroads

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 ...

Buses

Eau Claire Transit Eau Claire Transit is a mass transportation provider in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. The system consists of fifteen core routes and is served by a fleet of 22 low-floored buses. Service frequency varies from thirty minutes to one hour depending o ...

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 ...

Airport

Eau Claire county is served by the

Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is a public use airport in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The airport is owned by Eau Claire county and is located ) north of the central business district of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It ...

(KEAU).

Government

The legislative body of Eau Claire County is the non-partisan 29-member

Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,710. Its county seat is Eau Claire. The county took its name from the Eau Claire River. Eau Claire County is included in the ...

. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district and the chairperson and vice-chair positions are elected from within members of the board. The board meets in the Eau Claire County Courthouse in downtown Eau Claire, with its weekly meetings televised on local public television and transcripts published online. Most items are approved on a "consent calendar" without discussion. Public comment is limited to three minutes per individual per item. Eau Claire County contains portions of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

districts 23 and 31, represented by Kathy Bernier (R) and Jeff Smith (D) respectively. It also contains portions of

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

districts 68 ( Jesse James and 93 ( Warren Petryk , as well as almost all of district 91 (

Jodi Emerson Jodene Emerson (born August 3, 1972) is an American activist and Democratic politician. She represents the city of Eau Claire in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Early life, education, and family Emerson was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisco ...

. At the federal level, the entire county is contained within Wisconsin's third congressional district, which is represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is in the western part of the state and is anchored by La Cros ...

(D). At the Presidential level Eau Claire is solidly Democratic, having last voted Republican in 1984 for Ronald Reagan in his landslide re-election. Since 1984 the closest a Republican has come to winning Eau Claire was in 2000 when George W. Bush lost the county by 6.6 percent.

Recreation

Attractions include the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Dells Mill Museum in Augusta, Dells Mill Water Powered Museum in Augusta, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp in Eau Claire, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Eau Claire.http://www.wisconline.com/cgi-bin/find_attractions.pl?typ=cou&county=Eau%20Claire

Communities

Cities

* Altoona * Augusta * Eau Claire (county seat; partly in Chippewa County)

Villages

* Fairchild * Fall Creek

Towns

* Bridge Creek * Brunswick * Clear Creek *

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

* Fairchild *

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. * Lincol ...

* Ludington * Otter Creek * Pleasant Valley * Seymour *

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 o ...

* Wilson

Census-designated places

* Seymour

Unincorporated communities

* Allen * Brackett * Candy Corners * Cleghorn * Foster * Hale Corner * Hay Creek * Ludington * Lufkin * Mount Hope Corners * Rodell * Truax *