Monona County, Iowa

Monona County
Monona County
County
	Monona County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
	Iowa's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°02′50″N 95°58′07″W / 42.047222222222°N 95.968611111111°W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1851
Seat	Onawa
Largest city	Onawa
Area
• Total	699 sq mi (1,810 km2)
• Land	694 sq mi (1,800 km2)
• Water	4.9 sq mi (13 km2) 0.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,751
• Density	13/sq mi (4.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.mononacounty.org

Monona County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,751.^[1] The county seat is Onawa.^[2]^[3]

History

The area around present-day Onawa was a stopping point in 1804 for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their exploration of the newly obtained Louisiana Purchase. Many years later, that site was memorialized as the Lewis and Clark State Park.^[4]

Monona County was formed in 1851. It was perhaps named for an Indian word meaning "beautiful valley."^[5]

Monona County was organized officially in the spring of 1854 having been a part of Benton County (every county west of Benton in a line) in 1851 and afterwards Harrison County between 1852 and 1854.^[6]

When Ashton (originally called Bloomfield) was named the county seat in the fall of 1854, a log house served as the first courthouse.^[7] Ashton remained the county seat for only four years. That designation was moved to Onawa on April 5, 1858, and the first Monona County Courthouse was completed that same year.^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 699 square miles (1,810 km²), of which 694 square miles (1,800 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[9]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	832		—
1870	3,654		339.2%
1880	9,055		147.8%
1890	14,515		60.3%
1900	17,980		23.9%
1910	16,633		−7.5%
1920	17,125		3.0%
1930	18,213		6.4%
1940	18,238		0.1%
1950	16,303		−10.6%
1960	13,916		−14.6%
1970	12,069		−13.3%
1980	11,692		−3.1%
1990	10,034		−14.2%
2000	10,020		−0.1%
2010	9,243		−7.8%
2020	8,751		−5.3%
2023 (est.)	8,493	^[10]	−2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[11] 1790-1960^[12] 1900-1990^[13] 1990-2000^[14] 2010-2018^[15]

Population of Monona County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 8,751 in the county, with a population density of 12.5221/sq mi (4.83481/km²). 96.03% of the population reported being of one race. 90.33% were non-Hispanic White, 0.32% were Black, 2.70% were Hispanic, 1.67% were Native American, 0.32% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.64% were some other race or more than one race. There were 4,373 housing units, of which 3,839 were occupied.^[1]

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,243 in the county, with a population density of 13.3354/sq mi (5.14881/km²). There were 4,697 housing units, of which 4,050 were occupied.^[16]

2000 census

As of the census^[17] of 2000, there were 10,020 people, 4,211 households, and 2,737 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5.4 people/km²). There were 4,660 housing units at an average density of 7 units per square mile (2.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.34% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,211 households, out of which 26.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.00% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 23.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,235, and the median income for a family was $41,172. Males had a median income of $27,349 versus $19,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,477. About 6.60% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.90% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Unincorporated communities

Ticonic

Townships

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Onawa	2,906
2	Mapleton	1,165
3	Whiting	745
4	Ute	338
5	Blencoe	233
6	Moorhead	199
7	Soldier	184
8	Castana	107
9	Turin	72
10	Rodney	45

Politics

For over a century, Monona County was close to a national bellwether. Between 1900 & 2004, it only failed to back the national winner in 1960 & 1988. However, this bellwether status no longer applies. Barack Obama failed to carry the county in both of his electoral victories statewide & nationally, while Donald Trump in 2020 earned the highest percentage of any candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, in spite of his unsuccessful reelection bid.

United States presidential election results for Monona County, Iowa^[18]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,248	68.70%	1,407	29.76%	73	1.54%
2016	3,120	68.24%	1,247	27.27%	205	4.48%
2012	2,557	53.92%	2,101	44.31%	84	1.77%
2008	2,411	50.26%	2,295	47.84%	91	1.90%
2004	2,575	51.32%	2,397	47.77%	46	0.92%
2000	2,304	50.53%	2,086	45.75%	170	3.73%
1996	1,674	39.50%	1,952	46.06%	612	14.44%
1992	1,660	34.23%	1,939	39.99%	1,250	25.78%
1988	2,068	46.05%	2,408	53.62%	15	0.33%
1984	2,746	55.37%	2,159	43.54%	54	1.09%
1980	3,268	61.85%	1,660	31.42%	356	6.74%
1976	2,636	49.09%	2,661	49.55%	73	1.36%
1972	3,237	58.91%	2,189	39.84%	69	1.26%
1968	2,980	53.12%	2,184	38.93%	446	7.95%
1964	2,208	35.69%	3,971	64.18%	8	0.13%
1960	3,863	54.64%	3,207	45.36%	0	0.00%
1956	3,854	52.47%	3,477	47.34%	14	0.19%
1952	4,849	62.29%	2,918	37.49%	17	0.22%
1948	3,179	43.28%	4,098	55.79%	69	0.94%
1944	3,583	48.64%	3,761	51.06%	22	0.30%
1940	4,192	46.63%	4,783	53.20%	15	0.17%
1936	3,008	35.39%	5,346	62.89%	146	1.72%
1932	2,181	27.92%	5,537	70.88%	94	1.20%
1928	3,745	56.55%	2,836	42.82%	42	0.63%
1924	3,195	50.94%	1,271	20.26%	1,806	28.79%
1920	4,569	69.49%	1,960	29.81%	46	0.70%
1916	1,777	47.87%	1,910	51.45%	25	0.67%
1912	1,109	29.00%	1,358	35.51%	1,357	35.49%
1908	1,977	52.58%	1,732	46.06%	51	1.36%
1904	2,274	64.80%	1,016	28.95%	219	6.24%
1900	2,161	51.53%	1,934	46.11%	99	2.36%
1896	1,526	36.86%	2,558	61.79%	56	1.35%