Congressional district 5th Area 1,510 km² Population 84,509 (2013) County seat Jefferson | Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Founded 1836 Largest city Watertown Unemployment rate 3.9% (Apr 2015) | |
 | ||
Named for Jefferson County, New York Website www.jeffersoncountywi.gov University Maranatha Baptist University | ||
Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,686. Its county seat is Jefferson.
Contents
- Map of Jefferson County WI USA
- History
- Geography
- Airports
- Adjacent counties
- Demographics
- Government
- Cities
- Villages
- Census designated places
- References
Map of Jefferson County, WI, USA
Jefferson County comprises the Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area.
History
Jefferson County was created in 1836 as part of Wisconsin Territory and was organized in 1839. It was named after Jefferson County, New York, where some of the original settlers came from. The town of Watertown, Wisconsin was named after Watertown, New York in Jefferson County, New York.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 583 square miles (1,510 km2), of which 556 square miles (1,440 km2) is land and 26 square miles (67 km2) (4.5%) is water.
Airports
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 83,686 people, 32,117 households, and 21,872 families residing in the county. The population density was 133 people per square mile (51/km²). There were 30,092 housing units at an average density of 54 per square mile (21/km²). The county's racial makeup was 96.34% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.65% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 4.09% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 55.1% were of German, 6.1% Norwegian, 6.0% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 28,205 households out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.
Government
The County Board of Supervisors, with 30 members, serves as the legislative body for the county. There are seven elected officials in addition to the County Board of Supervisors. County-wide partisan elections are held in November. The County Board's members are elected for two-year terms during a spring non-partisan election. The County Board is responsible for the county administrator. The County Board elects a chairman, vice-chairman, and second vice-chairman.