Mitchell County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,565. 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 ...

is Osage.

History

Mitchell County was founded in 1851. It is not clear whom the county is named after; the county website mentions John Mitchel, an early surveyor, and an Irish patriot. The county's courthouse was completed in 1858, and it is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The courthouse has since been razed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 218 * Iowa Highway 9

Adjacent counties

* Mower County, Minnesota (north) * Howard County (east) * Floyd County (south) * Cerro Gordo County (southwest) * Worth County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 10,565 in the county, with a population density of . 97.47% of the population reported being of one race. 93.84% were non-Hispanic White, 0.40% were Black, 1.83% were Hispanic, 0.11% were Native American, 0.44% were Asian, 0.04% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.35% were some other race or more than one race. There were 4,847 housing units, of which 4,382 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 10,776 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,850 housing units, of which 4,395 were occupied.

2000 census

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mitchell County's 99% White population makes it the county with the smallest percentage of minorities nationally. 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 2000, there were 10,874 people, 4,294 households, and 2,984 families residing in the county. 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 4,594 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.27%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.07% from other races, and 0.21% from two or more races; 0.58% of the population were

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. There were 4,294 households, out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% 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, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males; for every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 92.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,843, and the median income for a family was $41,233. Males had a median income of $29,601 versus $22,054 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 county was $16,809. About 7.00% of families and 10.70% 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 16.50% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Starting with Michael Dukakis's win in 1988, Mitchell County became a Democratic leaning county, voting for Democrats in all presidential elections through 2012. Mitchell County was the whitest county in the United States that voted for President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, both in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, Trump became the first Republican to win the county since

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1984, winning it by a 24% margin, the largest margin for a presidential candidate since 1968. He won it again in 2020, by an even larger 28% margin, the largest margin for any candidate since 1952. 2020 also marked the first time since 1960 that a Democrat was elected president without carrying Mitchell County.

Economy

In January 2017, Mitchell County supervisors denied an application for an Iowa Select contracted farm in Lincoln Township. It was planned for 5,000-hogs.

Communities

Cities

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

* McIntire * Mitchell *

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

* Osage * St. Ansgar * Stacyville

Census-designated places

* Little Cedar * Meyer * Mona *

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

* Toeterville

Townships

* Burr Oak * Cedar * Douglas * East Lincoln * Jenkins *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* Mitchell * Newburg * Osage *

* Rock * St. Ansgar * Stacyville * Union * Wayne * West Lincoln

Population ranking

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

References

External links

Official site of Mitchell County, Iowa
{{coord, 43, 21, 20, N, 92, 47, 23, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1851