Walworth County, Wisconsin

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Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478.<ref name="2020-census-55127" /> Its county seat is Elkhorn.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for Reuben H. Walworth.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Walworth County comprises the Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is located in Walworth County.

Walworth County features several major tourist destinations: Lake Geneva, Alpine Valley Resort, and Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Tourism is a large contributor to Walworth County's economy. It is Wisconsin's fifteenth largest county in population, but it is the sixth largest in terms of economic impact from tourism (nearly $1 billion in 2023).<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 (3.7%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

Major highways

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Railroads

Buses

Airport

East Troy Municipal Airport Template:Airport codes, serves the county and surrounding communities

Adjacent counties

Waukesha County (northeast)
Racine County (east)
Kenosha County (east)
McHenry County, Illinois (southeast)
Boone County, Illinois (southwest)
Rock County (west)
Jefferson County (northwest)

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Walworth County, Wisconsin – Racial and ethnic composition**
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	85,428	88,690	88,104	91.11%	86.76%	82.74%
Black or African American alone (NH)	747	904	1,166	0.80%	0.88%	1.10%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	177	196	229	0.19%	0.19%	0.22%
Asian alone (NH)	592	819	1,002	0.63%	0.80%	0.94%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	16	33	10	0.02%	0.03%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	46	67	268	0.05%	0.07%	0.25%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	617	941	3,149	0.66%	0.92%	2.96%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	6,136	10,578	12,550	6.54%	10.35%	11.79%
Total	93,759	102,228	106,478	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55127">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 106,478. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 53,146 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 4.6% from other races, and 7.4% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 11.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 93,759 people, 34,522 households, and 23,267 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 43,783 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.49% White, 0.84% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 6.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> Of the 34,522 households 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of households were one person and 9.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

The age distribution was 24.20% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

In 2017, there were 918 births, giving a general fertility rate of 48.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the sixth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear left

Communities

File:Walworth County Wisconsin Sign Cty H.jpg

Walworth County sign

Cities

Burlington (mostly in Racine County)
Delavan

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Delavan Wisconsin 9

Elkhorn (county seat)
Lake Geneva
Whitewater (partly in Jefferson County)

Turtle Lake floating

Turtle Lake

Unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

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 Owing to its Yankee heritage,<ref>Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Vites: An Electoral History, p. 14 Template:ISBN</ref> which contrasts with the German-American or Scandinavian-American character of most of Wisconsin, Walworth County was initially a stronghold of the Free Soil Party.<ref name="VotesIII">Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History, Volume 3, p. 11 Template:ISBN</ref> It voted for Martin van Buren and John P. Hale in Wisconsin's first two presidential elections,<ref name="History">Beckwith, Albert Clayton; History of Walworth County, Wisconsin pp. 98-99 Published 1912 by B.F. Bowen and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana</ref> and its opposition to the spread of slavery led to its population voting Republican in subsequent elections,<ref name="History"/> even resisting the appeal of Wisconsin native Robert La Follette when he carried the state in 1924 as a Progressive.<ref name="Emerging">See Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 441-442 Template:ISBN</ref>

Walworth County remains strongly Republican.<ref name="Emerging"/><ref>See McDade, Philip J.; 'Congressional Restricting in Wisconsin' Template:Webarchive</ref> The only Democrat to carry the county was Woodrow Wilson in 1912, who won 36 percent of the vote. Even with the GOP mortally divided between President William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson only won the county by 29 votes. The best Democratic showings since then have been by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Barack Obama in 2008, both of whom received around 48 percent. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton are the only other Democrats since Wilson to cross the 40 percent mark, though Joe Biden came very close in 2020.