Columbia County, Wisconsin

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,490.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat and largest city is Portage.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1846<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as part of Wisconsin Territory. Columbia County is part of the Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI Combined Statistical Area.

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 (3.8%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The county's highest point is in the Baraboo Range, near Durward's Glen at 1,480 feet above sea level.<ref>Wisconsin High Points. Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office.</ref>

Major highways

• File:I-39.svg Interstate 39
• File:I-90.svg Interstate 90
• File:I-94.svg Interstate 94
• File:US 51.svg U.S. Highway 51
• File:US 151.svg U.S. Highway 151
• File:WIS 13.svg Highway 13
• File:WIS 16.svg Highway 16
• File:WIS 22.svg Highway 22
• File:WIS 23.svg Highway 23
• File:WIS 33.svg Highway 33
• File:WIS 44.svg Highway 44
• File:WIS 60.svg Highway 60
• File:WIS 73.svg Highway 73
• File:WIS 78.svg Highway 78
• File:WIS 89.svg Highway 89
• File:WIS 113.svg Highway 113
• File:WIS 127.svg Highway 127
• File:WIS 146.svg Highway 146
• File:WIS 188.svg Highway 188

Railroads

Passenger

• Amtrak

Freight

• Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
• Canadian Pacific
• Union Pacific
• Columbus station
• Portage station
• Wisconsin Dells station

Airports

• 94C - Gilbert Field airport serves the county and surrounding communities.
• C47 - Portage Municipal Airport supports the county.

Adjacent counties

• Marquette County – north
• Green Lake County – northeast
• Dodge County – east
• Dane County – south
• Sauk County – west
• Juneau County – northwest
• Adams County – northwest

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55021">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 58,490. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 26,565 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 91.9% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 1.3% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

File:ColumbiaCountyLawEnforcementCenterWIS33.jpg

Columbia County Law Enforcement Center

File:Columbus Wisconsin 11.jpg

Columbus, Wisconsin

File:Doylestown Wisconsin Municipal Building.jpg

Doylestown Wisconsin Municipal Building

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 52,468 people, 20,439 households, and 14,164 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 22,685 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.18% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 46.4% were of German, 10.2% Norwegian, 7.8% Irish, 6.4% English and 5.0% United States or American ancestry.

There were 20,439 households, out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.40 males.

In 2017, there were 602 births, giving a general fertility rate of 63.9 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 35th highest out of all 72 Wisconsin Counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, there were 63 reported induced abortions performed on women of Columbia County residence, with a rate of 6.7 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44, which is above the Wisconsin average rate of 5.2.<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

Cities

• Columbus (partly in Dodge County)
• Lodi
• Portage (county seat)
• Wisconsin Dells (partly in Adams County, Juneau County, and Sauk County)

Villages

• Arlington
• Cambria
• Doylestown
• Fall River
• Friesland
• Pardeeville
• Poynette
• Randolph (mostly in Dodge County)
• Rio
• Wyocena

Towns

• Arlington
• Caledonia
• Columbus
• Courtland
• Dekorra
• Fort Winnebago
• Fountain Prairie
• Hampden
• Leeds
• Lewiston
• Lodi
• Lowville
• Marcellon
• Newport
• Otsego
• Pacific
• Randolph
• Scott
• Springvale
• West Point
• Wyocena

Census-designated places

• Lake Wisconsin (partial)

Unincorporated communities

• Anacker
• Belle Fountain
• Dekorra
• Durwards Glen
• East Friesland
• Englewood
• Harmony Grove
• Ingle
• Keyeser
• Leeds
• Leeds Center
• Lewiston
• Lowville
• Marcellon
• North Leeds
• Okee
• Otsego

Ghost town/neighborhood

• Moe Settlement

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:PresRow Template:PresFoot For most of its history, Columbia County voters have backed the Republican Party candidate in national elections. Prior to 1992, the only times Republicans failed to win the county in the preceding 100 years of presidential elections were in the midst of a divided party vote in 1912, in 1924 when Wisconsinite Robert La Follette was on the ballot, and in the national Democratic Party landslides of 1932, 1936, & 1964. From 1992 onward, the county has been a swing county, voting for the statewide winner in all presidential elections since then except in 2004 and 2020, and voting for the national winner in all except 2000 and 2020. Republican Donald Trump won narrow pluralities in the county in 2016 and 2020, although a majority of county residents supported Democrat Tammy Baldwin's re-election to the United States Senate in 2018. Trump went on to win an absolute majority in the county in 2024, the strongest Republican performance since 1988.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbia County, Wisconsin
• List of counties in Wisconsin

Further reading

• The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880.
• Memorial and Biographical Record and Illustrated Compendium of Biography ... of Columbia, Sauk and Adams counties, Wisconsin.... Chicago: Geo. A. Ogle, 1901.

External links

• Columbia County government website
• Columbia County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation