Howard County, Iowa

Updated on Oct 02, 2024

Edit

Comment

Founded 1851 Largest city Cresco Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Population 9,526 (2013) Unemployment rate 3.5% (Apr 2015)		Named for Tilghman Howard Congressional district 1st Website www.co.howard.ia.us County seat Cresco

Cities Cresco, Lime Springs, Elma, Chester Rivers Elk Creek, Turkey River, Silver Creek, Bohemian Creek University Total Look School of Cosmetology & Massage Therapy Points of interest Lake Hendricks Park, Beadle Park, Hayden Prairie State Pre, Norman Borlaug Boyhood

Howard County is a county located in the US state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,566. The county seat is Cresco. The county was founded in 1851 and named after General Tilghman Ashurst Howard, a Representative of Indiana.

Map of Howard County, IA, USA

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 474 square miles (1,230 km²), of which 473 square miles (1,230 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) (0.08%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 63

Iowa Highway 9

Iowa Highway 139

Adjacent counties

Mower County, Minnesota (northwest)

Fillmore County, Minnesota (north)

Winnesheik County (east)

Chickasaw County (south)

Mitchell County (west)

Floyd County (southwest)

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,566 in the county, with a population density of 20.207/sq mi (7.8020/km²). There were 4,367 housing units, of which 3,944 were occupied.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 9,932 people, 3,974 households and 2,650 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 per square mile (8/km²). There were 4,327 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.06% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,974 households of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.

26.30% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median household income was $34,641 and the median family income was $43,284. Males had a median income of $28,856 compared $21,367 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,842. About 5.6% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.