Founded 1839 Area 1,878 km² | Named for Lewis Linn Congressional district 1st Website www.linncounty.org Population 216,111 (2013) Unemployment rate 3.7% (Apr 2015) | |
Points of interest Museum of Art Cedar Rapids, Bruce Colleges and Universities Kirkwood Community College, Coe College, Mount Mercy University, Cornell College, Kaplan University‑Cedar Rapids C Destinations | ||
Linn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 211,226, making it the second-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Cedar Rapids. Linn county is named in honor of Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri.
Contents
- Map of Linn County IA USA
- History
- Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
- 2010 census
- 2000 census
- Government
- Population ranking
- References
Map of Linn County, IA, USA
Linn County is included in the Cedar Rapids, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Linn County was created as a named but unorganized area on December 21, 1837, as a part of Wisconsin Territory. It became part of Iowa Territory on July 4, 1838 when the territory was organized. Linn County was organized by the first legislative assembly of the Iowa Territory on January 15, 1839. A site was selected for its first county seat along Indian Creek, and was named Marion, after the Revolutionary War general Francis Marion. As early as 1855, there were debates over moving the county seat to the fast-growing Cedar Rapids, southwest of Marion, but it was not until November 6, 1919, that there were enough votes in favor of the move (9,960 to 4,823). The first rail line was built through Cedar Rapids in 1859, and made the town (and the county) a major commercial hub in eastern Iowa.
Many areas of the county were damaged by the flooding of Cedar River in June 2008.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 725 square miles (1,880 km2), of which 717 square miles (1,860 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km2) (1.1%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
2010 census
The 2010 census recorded a population of 211,226 in the county, with a population density of 294.4163/sq mi (113.6748/km2). There were 92,251 housing units, of which 86,134 were occupied.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 191,701 people, 76,753 households, and 50,349 families residing in the county. The population density was 267 people per square mile (103/km²). There were 80,551 housing units at an average density of 112 per square mile (43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.90% White, 2.57% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 1.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 76,753 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% 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 2.99.
Age spread: 25.30% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,206, and the median income for a family was $56,494. Males had a median income of $38,525 versus $26,403 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,977. About 4.30% of families and 6.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.60% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
Government
On July 24, 2007, the voters of Linn County approved a measure to change the form of government from a 3-member Board of Supervisors elected at large to a 5-member Board of Supervisors elected by district. The supervisors serve overlapping 4-year terms.
The current supervisors are:
The Board of Supervisors is a governing and policy-making entity of the Linn County government. The county has several independent departments such as Sheriff, Legal, Auditor, Treasure and Recorder heads of which are also elected by the citizens of Linn County. Although county departments are primarily devoted to serving rural populations of Linn County, Department of Public Health (Linn County Public Health) serves both rural and urban populations. Linn County Public Health is the only health department in Iowa which is nationally accredited and is headed by Pramod Dwivedi. Some of the county departments which have similar roles to the city departments are: Sheriff (Police); Planning (Building); Conservation (Parks and Recreation); Assessor (Assessor); and Secondary Roads/Engineering (Public Works).
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Linn County.
† county seat