Almena is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Barron County 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The population was 705 at the 2020 census.

History

A post office called Almena has been in operation since 1888. The village's name is an amalgamation of Albert and Wilhelmina, the names of a first settler and his wife. Almena 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 1891. The name Almena came about after the federal government rejected the name "Lightning City" for a post office, which was derived from the nearby Lightning Creek.

Geography

Almena is located on the boundary between the Town of Almena and the Town of Clinton, about northeast of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. 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 village has a total area of , all of it land. Almena is located along

U.S. Highway 8 U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs primarily east–west for , mostly within the state of Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 35 (I-35) in Forest Lake, Minnesota, to US 2 at Norway, Michigan. Excep ...

and County Road P.

Demographics

2010 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 2010, there were 677 people, 297 households, and 178 families living in the village. 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 337 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.2%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.2% 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 people of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 297 households, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% 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, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.1% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in the village was 39.3 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 720 people, 295 households, and 182 families living in the village. The

was 720 people per square mile (278/km²). There were 308 housing units at an average density of 308 per square mile (118.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.08%

, 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 ...

, 1.25% Native American, 0.83% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 1.53% of the population. There were 295 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were

living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99. In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 100 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $27,917, and the median income for a family was $34,028. Males had a median income of $25,833 versus $20,278 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 village was $13,928. About 10.8% of families and 14.9% 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 18% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Wisconsin Villages in Barron County, Wisconsin