Clarke County, Iowa Information & Clarke County, Iowa Links at HealthHaven.com

Clarke County
	Clarke County, Iowa
	Map
	; Location in the state of Iowa
	; Iowa's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	1846
Seat	Osceola
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 432 sq mi (1,118 km²); 431 sq mi (1,117 km²); 2 sq mi (1 km²), 0.14%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 9,133; 21/sq mi (8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
	Website: www.clarkecountyiowa.org

Clarke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is named in honor of James Clarke, who was appointed Governor of Iowa Territory in November 1845 and was the last Territorial Governor, since Iowa was admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846. As of 2000, the population is 9,133. Its county seat is Osceola.^[1]

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 432 square miles (1,118 km²), of which 431 square miles (1,117 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2 km²) (0.14%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

Madison County (northwest)
Warren County (northeast)
Lucas County (east)
Decatur County (south)
Union County (west)

[edit] History

Clarke County was formed on January 13, 1846. It was named for James Clarke, a Governor of the Iowa Territory.^[2]

[edit] Demographics

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Clarke County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	12,440	—
1910	10,736	−13.7%
1920	10,506	−2.1%
1930	10,384	−1.2%
1940	10,233	−1.5%
1950	9,369	−8.4%
1960	8,222	−12.2%
1970	7,581	−7.8%
1980	8,612	13.6%
1990	8,287	−3.8%
2000	9,133	10.2%
IA Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 9,133 people, 3,584 households, and 2,498 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 3,934 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.64% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.96% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 4.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,584 households out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,474, and the median income for a family was $42,171. Males had a median income of $29,648 versus $20,522 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,409. About 6.20% of families and 8.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.