Ringgold 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 4,663, making it the Iowa county with the second-smallest population. 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 Mount Ayr. The county is named after Maj. Samuel Ringgold, a hero of the Battle of Palo Alto fought in May 1846, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. It is one of the 26 Iowa counties with a name that is unique across the nation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 169 * Circle sign 2

Iowa Highway 2 * Elongated circle 25

Iowa Highway 25

Adjacent counties

* Union County (north) * Decatur County (east) * Harrison County, Missouri (southeast) * Worth County, Missouri (southwest) * Taylor County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,663 in the county, with a population density of . 96.68% of the population reported being of one race. 94.32% were non-Hispanic White, 0.06% were Black, 1.52% were Hispanic, 0.15% were Native American, 0.17% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.75% were some other race or more than one race. There were 2,672 housing units, of which 1,945 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,131 in the county, with a population density of . There were 2,613 housing units, of which 2,047 were occupied.

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 5,469 people, 2,245 households, and 1,537 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,789 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.07%

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 ...

, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.24% 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. Of the 2,245 households 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 5.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.60% of households were one person and 17.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90. The age distribution was 24.00% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 21.40% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 24.00% 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 94.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males. The median household income was $29,110 and the median family income was $34,472. Males had a median income of $24,583 versus $20,606 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,023. About 9.40% of families and 14.30% 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 20.40% of those under age 18 and 16.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

* Benton * Clearfield (pt) *

Diagonal In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek � ...

* Ellston * Kellerton * Maloy * Mount Ayr * Redding * Shannon City (pt) * Tingley

Census-designated place

* Delphos * Sun Valley Lake

Extinct Hamlet

* Knowlton

Townships

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

* Benton * Clinton * Grant * Jefferson *

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 ...

* Lincoln * Lotts Creek * Middle Fork * Monroe * Poe *

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

* Riley * Tingley * Union * Washington * Waubonsie

Population ranking

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

Politics

Education

School districts include: * Bedford Community School District * Creston Community School District * Diagonal Community School District * East Union Community School District * Lamoni Community School District * Lenox Community School District * Mount Ayr Community School District Former school districts: * Clearfield Community School District - Dissolved on July 1, 2014.REORGANIZATION & DISSOLUTION ACTIONS SINCE 1965-66
."

Iowa Department of Education The Iowa Department of Education sets the standards for all public institutions of education in Iowa and accredits private as well as public schools. It is headquartered in Des Moines. Organization As of 2020, the Iowa Department of Education c ...

. Retrieved on July 20, 2018.

Notes

References

External links

Ringgold County
Portal style website maintained by the Ringgold County government
Ringgold County history and information
{{Coord, 40, 43, 56, N, 94, 14, 53, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1847 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1847