Early, Iowa

History

Early was incorporated on May 22, 1883, and is named after D.C. Early, a local settler.

Geography

Early is located at 42°27′43″N 95°9′5″W (42.461903, -95.151290).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.39 square miles (1.01 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Early's "claim to fame" is that it is the Crossroads of the Nation, because Highway 71 and Highway 20 cross each other there.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 557 people, 246 households, and 146 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,428.2 inhabitants per square mile (551.4/km²). There were 287 housing units at an average density of 735.9 per square mile (284.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.2% White, 1.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.5% of the population.

There were 246 households of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.7% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 40.9 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 27.7% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 605 people, 258 households, and 166 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.3 people per square mile (599.0/km²). There were 293 housing units at an average density of 742.1 per square mile (290.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.03% White, 0.66% African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.31% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.13% of the population.

There were 258 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.97.

27.8% were under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,972, and the median income for a family was $40,521. Males had a median income of $27,778 versus $18,929 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,317. About 8.1% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Song

The city is the topic of the song "Early", by folk musician Greg Brown. It appears on his album 44 & 66, released in 1980.

Murder of Dustin Wehde

In August 2011, Tracey Ann Richter was charged with first-degree murder and was convicted by a jury in November 2011. On June 1, 2012, Dateline NBC aired a two-hour episode titled "Twisted" about the 2001 shooting death of Early resident Dustin Wehde. Tracey Richter, a neighbor of Wehde's, was convicted of first-degree murder on 7 November 2011 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole [Case No. FECR011900]. Richter appealed her conviction. On Wed Jan 9th, 2013 The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Tracey Ann Richter.