Iron County, Wisconsin

Iron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,137,<ref name="2020-census-55051" /> making it the third-least populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat is Hurley.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It was named for the valuable iron ore found within its borders.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> The county overlaps with small parts of the Bad River and Lac du Flambeau Indian reservations. The county is considered a high-recreation retirement destination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (18%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

• Vilas County - east, southeast
• Price County - southwest
• Ashland County - west
• Gogebic County, Michigan - northeast

Major highways

File:US 2.svg U.S. Highway 2 File:US 51.svg U.S. Highway 51 File:WIS 47.svg Highway 47 (Wisconsin) File:WIS 77.svg Highway 77 (Wisconsin)

File:WIS 122.svg Highway 122 (Wisconsin) File:WIS 169.svg Highway 169 (Wisconsin) File:WIS 182.svg Highway 182 (Wisconsin)

County Highways

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Railroads

• Watco

Airport

• KIWD - Gogebic-Iron County Airport – Commercial air service is available.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55051">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 6,137. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 5,523 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% White, 1.1% Native American, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,916 people living in the county. 97.9% were White, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.2% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 0.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 22.9% were of German, 13.7% Italian, 12.6% Finnish, 8.2% Polish, 6.6% American and 5.4% Irish ancestry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2000 census

Template:Stack As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 6,861 people, 3,083 households, and 1,960 families living in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 5,706 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.28% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.9% were of German, 18.6% Italian, 15.2% Finnish, 9.3% Polish and 6.4% Irish ancestry. 97.1% spoke English as their first language.

There were 3,083 households, out of which 22.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.40% were non-families. 32.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.40% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, and 23.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.

In 2017, there were 34 births, giving a general fertility rate of 46.1 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 2nd lowest rate out of 72 Wisconsin counties. 13 of the births were to unmarried mothers, 21 were to married mothers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Iron County residence in 2017.<ref>Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin, Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18</ref>

Communities

File:Iron County Wisconsin Sign Looking West US51.jpg

Entrance sign on US 51

Cities

• Hurley (county seat)
• Montreal

Towns

• Anderson
• Carey
• Gurney
• Kimball
• Knight
• Mercer
• Oma
• Pence
• Saxon
• Sherman

Census-designated places

• Iron Belt
• Mercer
• Pence
• Saxon

Unincorporated communities

• Carter
• Cedar
• Germania
• Gurney
• Hoyt
• Kimball
• Manitowish
• Pine Lake
• Orva
• Powell
• Rouse
• Springstead
• Tyler Forks
• Upson
• Van Buskirk

Historical sites

The National Register of Historic Places lists the following historic sites in Iron County:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Site	Area of significance	Year added
Annala Round Barn	Architecture, agriculture	1979
Montreal Company Location Historic District	Landscape architecture, community planning and development, industry	1980
Old Iron County Courthouse	Politics/government, architecture	1977
Plummer Mine Headframe	Engineering, industry	1997
Springstead	Architecture, exploration/settlement	1997

Politics

Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot From 1928 to 1996, Iron County voted Democratic in presidential elections, the only exception being Richard Nixon's landslide in 1972. In 2000, George W. Bush became only the second Republican since 1920 to carry Iron County despite narrowly losing the national popular vote, and the county remained a competitive county for the next three elections, narrowly voting for Kerry in 2004 and for Romney in 2012. Recent elections have seen the county trend solidly Republican however; in 2016, Trump won the county with 59.2% (the first time a Republican had won an outright majority in the county since 1920), and in 2020, he increased his vote share to 60.8%, and further expanding it to 62.6% (a difference of 1,070 votes) in 2024.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Iron County, Wisconsin

Further reading

• History of Iron County. Hurley, Wis.: Iron County WPA Historical Project, 1937–1938.

External links

• Iron County government website
• Iron County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Iron County Economic Development
• Historic Bridges of Iron County