Pierce County, Wisconsin
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county
Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,212.<ref name="2020-census-55093" /> Its county seat is Ellsworth.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Pierce County is part of the Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
[edit]Native Americans were the first to live in what became Pierce County, as evidenced in the burial mounds near Diamond Bluff. Evidence indicates that this area has been inhabited for 10,000 to 12,000 years. In 1840, St. Croix County covered a large portion of northwest Wisconsin Territory. In 1853, the Wisconsin State Legislature split St. Croix County into Pierce, Polk, and Saint Croix counties. Pierce County was named for Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth president of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
[edit]Template:Stack 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 (3.1%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Adjacent counties
[edit]- St. Croix County – north
- Dunn County – northeast
- Pepin County – southeast
- Goodhue County, Minnesota – south
- Dakota County, Minnesota – southwest
- Washington County, Minnesota – west
National protected area
[edit]Demographics
[edit]2020 census
[edit]As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55093">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 42,212. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 16,780 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 92.3% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 1.1% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2000 census
[edit]As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 36,804 people, 13,015 households, and 9,032 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 13,493 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.01% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.0% were of German, 16.2% Norwegian, 7.1% Swedish and 7.1% Irish ancestry.
There were 13,015 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 21.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 17.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.
In 2017, there were 386 births, giving a general fertility rate of 43.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Communities
[edit]
Cities
[edit]- Prescott
- River Falls (partly in St. Croix County)
Villages
[edit]- Bay City
- Ellsworth (county seat)
- Elmwood
- Maiden Rock
- Plum City
- Spring Valley (partly in St. Croix County)
Towns
[edit]- Clifton
- Diamond Bluff
- El Paso
- Ellsworth
- Gilman
- Hartland
- Isabelle
- Maiden Rock
- Martell
- Oak Grove
- River Falls
- Rock Elm
- Salem
- Spring Lake
- Trenton
- Trimbelle
- Union
Census-designated places
[edit]Unincorporated communities
[edit]- Beldenville
- El Paso
- Esdaile
- Exile
- Hatchville (partial)
- Lawton
- Lund
- Martell
- Moeville
- Morton Corner
- Nerike
- North Red Wing
- Oakridge
- Olivet
- Ono
- Ottman Corners
- Pucketville
- Rock Elm
- Salem
- Smith Landing
- Snows Corner
- Trenton
- Trimbelle
- Viking (partial)
- Warrentown
- Waverly
Ghost town/neighborhood
[edit]Transportation
[edit]Railroads
[edit]Buses
[edit]Politics
[edit]Originally a swing county, Pierce joined the Democratic column beginning in 1988. In 2012, Republican Mitt Romney won the county by a narrow 162-vote plurality, and it has trended more Republican ever since. In 2024, Donald Trump's performance was the strongest for a Republican in the county since Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>
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See also
[edit]- National Register of Historic Places listings in Pierce County, Wisconsin
- The First Review of Pierce County
References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book, UWRF ARC F 587 .P6 H5
- Template:Cite book, UWRF ARC F 587 .P6 P5 vol. 1.
External links
[edit]- Pierce County government website
- Pierce County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation