Oconto County, Wisconsin

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Rural Oconto County in fall

Oconto County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,965.<ref name="2020-census-55083" /> Its county seat is Oconto.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was established in 1851.<ref>Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer, (New York:Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 1364</ref>

Oconto County is part of the Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Green Bay-Shawano, WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

First visited by French explorers in the 17th century, Oconto County is among the oldest settlements in Wisconsin. Father Claude-Jean Allouez of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order said the first Mass in Oconto. Among the first settlers was Joseph Tourtilott, who explored much of the Oconto River watershed. Oconto County was created in 1851 and organized in 1854.<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 (13%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

Marinette County - northeast
Door County - southeast, border is in Green Bay
Brown County - south
Shawano County - southwest
Menominee County - west
Langlade County - west
Forest County - northwest

Major highways

Railroads

Buses

Airport

J. Douglas Bake Memorial Airport (KOCQ) serves the county and surrounding communities.

National protected area

Nicolet National Forest (part)

Demographics

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2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55083">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 38,965. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 23,754 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 93.5% White, 1.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.8% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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File:USRoute41NorthernWisconsinWoods.jpg

Woods along U.S. Route 41

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 35,634 people, 13,979 households, and 10,050 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 19,812 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.76% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.9% were of German, 11.8% Polish, 6.0% French and 5.6% American ancestry.

There were 13,979 households, out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

In 2017, there were 353 births, giving a general fertility rate of 61.0 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 28th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, there were 14 reported induced abortions performed on women of Oconto 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> Template:Clear left

Communities

File:OcontoCountyWisconsinSign.jpg

Oconto County sign

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

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Native American community

Forest County Potawatomi Community

Ghost town/neighborhood

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 In the latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century, Oconto County was a bellwether in presidential elections, supporting the winning candidate in every election from 1964 to 2008. In 2012, however, the county voted for Republican Mitt Romney despite Romney losing the state of Wisconsin and the national election. In 2016, the county swung 27 percentage points to the right, giving Republican Donald Trump a margin of victory of more than 37 percentage points and a vote share of 66%. In 2020, Trump improved his performance, carrying Oconto by a margin of 41 percentage points and winning 69.9% of the vote to Democrat Joe Biden's 28.9%. This was the best result for any presidential nominee in Oconto County since 1920, when Warren Harding received 78.2% of the vote, and remains the third strongest performance of any candidate ever. Trump broke this record again in 2024, when he received over 70% of the county's vote.

References

External links

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Oconto County
Oconto County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Oconto County Tourism & Development

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