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Poweshiek County, Iowa

Poweshiek County is a county located in southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa along Interstate 80, between Des Moines and Iowa City. It is named for the Indian chief of the Fox tribe who signed the treaty ending the Black Hawk War. As of 2000, the population was 18,815. The city of Montezuma is the county seat.

History

Poweshiek County was formed in 1843. It was named for the chief of the Fox Indians.

Government

The current County Supervisors are LaMoyne Gaard, Doug Shutts, and Ellie Snook; all are Democrats.

Education

Poweshiek County is also home to Grinnell and Grinnell College, a small liberal arts college founded in 1846.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 586 square miles (1,518 km²), of which, 585 square miles (1,515 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.19%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Tama County (north)
Iowa County (east)
Keokuk County (southeast)
Mahaska County (south)
Jasper County (west)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,815 people, 7,398 households, and 4,882 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 8,556 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.74% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 1.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,398 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,836, and the median income for a family was $46,599. Males had a median income of $32,781 versus $22,465 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,629. About 6.2% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.