Melbourne is a city in Marshall 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 786 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

The town of Melbourne 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 February 23, 1882, by Milwaukee Land Company, in section 6 of Logan Township and was incorporated December 30, 1895. Melbourne was the only town in Marshall County to be served continuously by two major railroads. Melbourne's growth was rapid and made possible by three railroads and the population increased to 423 by 1910. Melbourne suffered the worst disaster in the town's history when a fire consumed the whole business district in 1903; then in 1981 the southern end of town was destroyed by a tornado. The mayor of Melbourne from 1984 until 1998 was Bill Crews, an openly gay man who revealed his orientation during his term, in 1993. At the time, Melbourne was believed to be the smallest municipality in the United States to have an openly gay mayor.

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 786 people, 295 households, and 195 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 1,488.7 inhabitants per square mile (574.8/km²). There were 323 housing units at an average density of 611.8 per square mile (236.2/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 95.7%

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 ...

, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.0% 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 ...

, 0.8% from other races and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 2.5% of the population. Of the 295 households, 33.6% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% 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, 9.5% were cohabitating couples, 17.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 18.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.9% of all households were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 30.2% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 and 44; 25.7% were from 45 and 64; and 14.0% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.1% male and 46.9% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 830 people, 322 households, and 218 families living in the city. The

was . There were 354 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.6%

, 0.4%

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 ...

, and 1.1% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 322 households, of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.3% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age in the city was 34.8 years. 27.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.3% were from 45 to 64; and 11% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.4% male and 49.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 794 people, 318 households, and 218 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 332 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.50%

, 0.13%

, and 0.38% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 318 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $47,019, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $36,528 versus $24,667 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 $18,641. About 3.1% of families and 3.7% 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 4.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Marshall County, Iowa Populated places established in 1882