Worth 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 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 ...

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 7,443. 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 Northwood. The county was founded in 1851 and named for Major General William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849), an officer in both the

Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

and 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, ...

. Worth County is part of the Mason City, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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 a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Iowa by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

/ Iowa Highway 27 * US 65

U.S. Highway 65 * US 69

U.S. Highway 69 * Circle sign 9

Iowa Highway 9

Adjacent counties

* Freeborn County, Minnesota (north) *

Mower County, Minnesota Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin ...

(northeast) * Mitchell County (east) * Cerro Gordo County (south) * Winnebago County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 7,443 in the county, with a population density of . 96.49% of the population reported being of one race. 91.76% were non-Hispanic White, 0.81% were Black, 2.83% were Hispanic, 0.11% were Native American, 0.43% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.04% were some other race or more than one race. There were 3,480 housing units, of which 3,127 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,598 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,548 housing units, of which 3,172 were occupied.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 7,909 people, 3,278 households, and 2,265 families in the county. The population density was . There were 3,534 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.37%

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 ...

, 0.28%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.42% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 1.57%. 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 3,278 households 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 27.60% of households were one person and 14.30% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88. The age distribution was 24.30% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males. The median household income was $36,444 and the median family income was $41,763. Males had a median income of $27,927 versus $20,897 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,952. About 6.30% of families and 8.30% 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 9.60% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Fertile * Grafton * Hanlontown * Joice * Kensett * Manly * Northwood

Census-designated place

* Bolan

Townships

* Barton *

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

* Brookfield * Danville * Deer Creek * Fertile * Grove * Hartland * Kensett * Lincoln * Silver Lake * Union

Population ranking

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

Politics

From its inaugural election in 1860 through 1928, Worth County backed the Republican candidate in every election with the exception of 1912, when former Republican

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

won as the Progressive candidate. From 1932 to 1980, the county was a bellwether, backing the nationwide winner in every election in that span except for 1960. For the next eight elections, Worth County favored the Democratic nominee in every election, each time by a margin of at least 10% except for 1984. In 2016, the county shifted back to the right, with

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 ...

winning nearly 58% of the vote in Worth County with a margin of victory of almost 22%. He improved on this in 2020, taking almost 62% of the vote and winning by a margin of victory of nearly 26%, the best performance by any candidate since

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

in 1964, the best performance by a Republican since

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in 1928, and the best margin of victory for any candidate since 1928 as well.

References

External links

County Government website
{{coord, 43, 22, 44, N, 93, 15, 26, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Mason City, Iowa micropolitan area Populated places established in 1851