Lucas County, Iowa

Lucas County
Lucas County
County
	Lucas County Courthouse in Chariton
	Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
	Iowa's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 41°01′34″N 93°19′42″W / 41.026111111111°N 93.328333333333°W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1846
Named for	Robert Lucas
Seat	Chariton
Largest city	Chariton
Area
• Total	434 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Land	431 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Water	3.8 sq mi (10 km2) 0.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,634
• Density	20/sq mi (7.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Lucas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,634.^[1] The county seat is Chariton.^[2] The county was formed in 1846^[3] and was named for Robert Lucas, a Governor of the Territory.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 434 square miles (1,120 km²), of which 431 square miles (1,120 km²) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²) (0.9%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Warren County (northwest)
Marion County (northeast)
Monroe County (east)
Wayne County (south)
Clarke County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	471		—
1860	5,766		1,124.2%
1870	10,388		80.2%
1880	14,530		39.9%
1890	14,563		0.2%
1900	16,126		10.7%
1910	13,462		−16.5%
1920	15,686		16.5%
1930	15,114		−3.6%
1940	14,571		−3.6%
1950	12,069		−17.2%
1960	10,923		−9.5%
1970	10,163		−7.0%
1980	10,313		1.5%
1990	9,070		−12.1%
2000	9,422		3.9%
2010	8,898		−5.6%
2020	8,634		−3.0%
2023 (est.)	8,747	^[6]	1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2018^[11]

Population of Lucas County from US census data

2020 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Lucas County from ACS 5-year estimates

The 2020 census recorded a population of 8,634 in the county, with a population density of 19.9660/sq mi (7.7089/km²). 96.75% of the population reported being of one race. 92.76% were non-Hispanic White, 0.27% were Black, 2.29% were Hispanic, 0.08% were Native American, 0.34% were Asian, 0.00% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.26% were some other race or more than one race. There were 4,058 housing units, of which 3,608 were occupied.^[1]

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 8,898 in the county, with a population density of 20.6666/sq mi (7.9794/km²). There were 4,238 housing units, of which 3,689 were occupied.^[12]

2000 census

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 9,422 people, 3,811 households, and 2,560 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile (8.5 people/km²). There were 4,239 housing units at an average density of 10 units per square mile (3.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.44% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,811 households, out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,876, and the median income for a family was $38,352. Males had a median income of $31,243 versus $21,293 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,341. About 8.40% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.10% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those age 65 or over.

Athletics

Lucas County is well known for its baseball program. As recently as 2009, Lucas County's Babe Ruth All-star teams have made it to, or past, the Iowa State Tournament. They have won 5 Babe Ruth State Titles, with the most recent coming in 2008. They have not, however, won any national titles.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Unincorporated areas

Norwood

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Lucas County.^[1]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Chariton	City	4,193
2	Russell	City	472
3	Lucas	City	172
4	Williamson	City	120
5	Derby	City	90

Notable people

T. J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions tight end 2019
John L. Lewis, labor union

Politics

Lucas county is a stronghold for the GOP. Republicans have won the county every year since 2000, with Donald Trump receiving a stellar 70% of the vote in 2020.

United States presidential election results for Lucas County, Iowa^[14]^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,287	70.99%	1,284	27.73%	59	1.27%
2016	2,877	66.08%	1,239	28.46%	238	5.47%
2012	2,254	52.14%	1,987	45.96%	82	1.90%
2008	2,330	52.06%	2,029	45.33%	117	2.61%
2004	2,543	55.63%	1,987	43.47%	41	0.90%
2000	2,262	52.57%	1,934	44.95%	107	2.49%
1996	1,586	37.68%	2,168	51.51%	455	10.81%
1992	1,734	37.10%	2,072	44.33%	868	18.57%
1988	1,776	41.86%	2,454	57.84%	13	0.31%
1984	2,630	51.72%	2,422	47.63%	33	0.65%
1980	2,593	52.61%	1,989	40.35%	347	7.04%
1976	2,071	42.32%	2,733	55.84%	90	1.84%
1972	2,851	60.79%	1,759	37.51%	80	1.71%
1968	2,543	53.18%	1,942	40.61%	297	6.21%
1964	1,935	36.79%	3,310	62.93%	15	0.29%
1960	3,512	59.88%	2,344	39.97%	9	0.15%
1956	3,397	58.25%	2,431	41.68%	4	0.07%
1952	3,921	63.09%	2,217	35.67%	77	1.24%
1948	2,656	48.51%	2,697	49.26%	122	2.23%
1944	3,139	54.94%	2,526	44.21%	48	0.84%
1940	3,806	53.24%	3,255	45.53%	88	1.23%
1936	3,414	46.25%	3,773	51.11%	195	2.64%
1932	2,381	39.84%	3,434	57.46%	161	2.69%
1928	3,811	66.01%	1,888	32.70%	74	1.28%
1924	3,288	52.64%	824	13.19%	2,134	34.17%
1920	3,775	68.56%	1,463	26.57%	268	4.87%
1916	1,672	47.91%	1,536	44.01%	282	8.08%
1912	939	32.11%	968	33.11%	1,017	34.78%
1908	1,757	55.41%	1,267	39.96%	147	4.64%
1904	2,259	65.73%	878	25.55%	300	8.73%
1900	2,225	57.58%	1,488	38.51%	151	3.91%
1896	1,859	52.43%	1,621	45.71%	66	1.86%