Buchanan County, Iowa

Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,565. Its county seat is Independence. The county was created in 1837 and was named in honor of Senator James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States.

WWW co.buchanan.ia.us

History

Buchanan County was formed on December 21, 1837, from parts of Dubuque County. It was named after US Senator James Buchanan, who would later go on to be President of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 20,565 and a population density of ; 97.06% of residents reported being of one race.
The median age was 39.8 years. 26.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.7 males age 18 and over.
32.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 67.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,198 households in the county, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.3% were married-couple households, 17.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 8,886 housing units, of which 7.7% were vacant, leaving 8,198 occupied units. Among occupied housing units, 80.0% were owner-occupied and 20.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.
The racial makeup of the county was 95.8% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.6% of the population.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,958 in the county, with a population density of. There were 8,968 housing units, of which 8,161 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,093 people, 7,933 households, and 5,672 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 8,697 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 98.41% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,933 households, out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,036, and the median income for a family was $45,421. Males had a median income of $30,212 versus $22,356 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,405. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Bryantsburg
Castleville
Chatham
Doris
Gatesville
Hamerville
Kiene
Kier
Littleton
Middlefield
Monti
Newtonville
Otterville
Shady Grove
Vista
Wise

A number of historic communities in Buchanan County once appeared on state maps, but no longer exist. Hamerville was located east of Brandon at the intersection of Highway 150. Today, the site is the location of three farmhouses. Vista, once located between Brandon and Independence, appeared on maps frequently until the 1950s. This site is not even accessed by paved road. Kier, between Fairbank and Littleton, appeared on many maps in the 19th century and early 20th century. The area is now settled by Amish. Several towns named Middlefield existed southeast of Winthrop, but none are populated today. Newtonville was located a few miles south of Monti. The houses at Castleville were later moved to Aurora. Wise, once located between Independence and Jesup just north of Highway 939, was a train-stop between the 1920s and the 1950s. Little remains at the site. Kiene was founded in 1911 between Quasqueton and Monti, but was empty by 1955. Few or even no houses remain at any of these sites.

Townships

Buchanan County is divided into sixteen townships:

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Buchanan County.
† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population
1	† 'Independence	City	6,064
2	Jesup	City	2,508
3	Fairbank	City	1,111
4	Winthrop	City	823
5	Hazleton	City	713
6	Quasqueton	City	570
7	Lamont	City	429
8	Brandon	City	341
9	Rowley	City	270
10	Aurora	City	169
11	Stanley'	City	81

Education

School districts in the county include:

In the period prior to July 1966 the county had two school districts, serving Amish groups, which did not operate high schools. The Iowa legislature had passed a law requiring school districts which did not operate school districts to merge into ones that did.

Amish community

Buchanan County is home to the Hazleton Old Order Amish settlement, founded in 1914, that in 1987 had to six church districts with an estimated population of about 1,200 Amish. The Buchanan Amish affiliation is named after Buchanan County.

Politics

From the founding of the Republican Party in 1854 through 1984, the party won nearly every presidential election in Buchanan County. The exceptions were 1864, 1912, the two landslide elections of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and the landslide election of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The county took a leftward shift beginning in 1988, voting for the Democratic nominee in every election from then until 2012 and by a margin of at least 10% in each election in that span except for 1992 and 2004. In 2016, Donald Trump swung the county back to the right, shifting the county 29% to the right from 2012, as Trump won the county by a margin of over 15%. Trump improved on this performance in 2020, taking nearly 60% of the county's vote and winning by a margin of almost 21%, the best vote share for any candidate in the county since 1964. Trump did even better in 2024, winning more than 63% of Buchanan County's vote and achieving a margin of victory of more than 28%, the best Republican performance in the county since Dwight D. Eisenhower in his 1952 landslide.