Pierce 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 ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,212. Its

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 Ellsworth. Pierce County is part of the

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 ...

– St. Paul– Bloomington, MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Native Americans were the first to live in what became Pierce County, as evidenced in the burial mounds near Diamond Bluff. Evidence indicates that this area has been inhabited for 10,000 to 12,000 years. In 1840, St. Croix County covered a large portion of northwest

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

. In 1853, the Wisconsin State Legislature split St. Croix County into Pierce, Polk, and Saint Croix counties. Pierce County was named for

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

, the 14th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (3.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* St. Croix County – north * Dunn County – northeast * Pepin County – southeast *

Goodhue County, Minnesota Goodhue County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 47,582. Its county seat is Red Wing, Minnesota, Red Wing. Nearly all of Prairie Island ...

– south *

Dakota County, Minnesota Dakota County is the third-most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located in the east central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 439,882. The populat ...

– southwest *

Washington County, Minnesota Washington County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 267,568, making it the fifth-most populous county in Minnesota. Its county seat is Stillw ...

– west

National protected area

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway The Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway is a federally protected system of riverways located in eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. It protects of river, including the St. Croix River (on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border), and the ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 42,212. 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 16,780 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.3%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 1.1% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.9%

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.

2000 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 2000, there were 36,804 people, 13,015 households, and 9,032 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 13,493 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.01%

, 0.25%

, 0.29% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.28% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 41.0% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 16.2% Norwegian, 7.1% Swedish and 7.1% Irish ancestry. There were 13,015 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% 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, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 21.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 17.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males. In 2017, there were 386 births, giving a general fertility rate of 43.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.

Communities

Cities

* Prescott * River Falls (partly in St. Croix County)

Villages

* Bay City * Ellsworth (county seat) * Elmwood * Maiden Rock * Plum City * Spring Valley (partly in St. Croix County)

Towns

* Clifton * Diamond Bluff *

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

* Ellsworth * Gilman * Hartland *

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

* Maiden Rock * Martell * Oak Grove * River Falls * Rock Elm * Salem * Spring Lake * Trenton * Trimbelle * Union

Census-designated places

* Diamond Bluff * Hager City

Unincorporated communities

* Beldenville *

* Esdaile *

Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

* Hatchville (partial) * Lawton *

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

* Martell * Moeville * Morton Corner * Nerike * North Red Wing * Oakridge * Olivet * Ono * Ottman Corners * Pucketville * Rock Elm * Salem *Smith Landing * Snows Corner * Trenton * Trimbelle *

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

(partial) * Warrentown * Waverly

Ghost town/neighborhood

* Brasington

Transportation

Railroads

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

Buses

Politics

Originally a swing county, Pierce joined the Democratic column beginning in 1988. In 2012, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

won the county by a narrow 162-vote plurality, and it has trended more Republican ever since. In 2024,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's performance was the strongest for a Republican in the county since

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in 1956.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/

References

External links

Pierce County government websitePierce County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation {{authority control Minneapolis–Saint Paul Wisconsin counties on the Mississippi River 1853 establishments in Wisconsin Populated places established in 1853