Tama County, Iowa

Tama County
Tama County
County
	Tama County Courthouse in Toledo
	Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
	Iowa's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°04′43″N 92°31′53″W / 42.078611111111°N 92.531388888889°W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1843
Named for	Taimah
Seat	Toledo
Largest city	Tama
Area
• Total	722 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Land	721 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (3 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	17,135
• Density	24/sq mi (9.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.tamacounty.iowa.gov

Taimah, from A.R. Fulton's *Red Men of Iowa* 1882

Tama County /ˈteɪmə/ is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135.^[1] Its county seat is Toledo.^[2] The county was formed on February 17, 1843^[3] and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki people.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 722 square miles (1,870 km²), of which 721 square miles (1,870 km²) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Grundy County (northwest)
Black Hawk County (northeast)
Benton County (east)
Poweshiek County (south)
Marshall County (west)
Iowa County (southeast)
Jasper County (southwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	8		—
1860	5,285		65,962.5%
1870	16,131		205.2%
1880	21,585		33.8%
1890	22,052		2.2%
1900	24,585		11.5%
1910	22,156		−9.9%
1920	21,861		−1.3%
1930	21,987		0.6%
1940	22,428		2.0%
1950	21,688		−3.3%
1960	21,413		−1.3%
1970	20,147		−5.9%
1980	19,533		−3.0%
1990	17,419		−10.8%
2000	18,103		3.9%
2010	17,767		−1.9%
2020	17,135		−3.6%
2023 (est.)	16,833	^[6]	−1.8%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2018^[11]

Population of Tama County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 17,135 in the county, with a population density of 23.7323/sq mi (9.16311/km²). 93.80% of the population reported being of one race. There were 7,575 housing units, of which 6,784 were occupied.^[1]

Tama County Racial Composition^[12]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	13,284	77.52%
Black or African American (NH)	125	0.73%
Native American (NH)	1,258	7.34%
Asian (NH)	80	0.5%
Pacific Islander (NH)	2	0.01%
Other/Mixed (NH)	582	3.4%
Hispanic or Latino	1,804	10.53%

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,767 in the county, with a population density of 24.5638/sq mi (9.4841/km²). There were 7,766 housing units, of which 6,947 were occupied.^[13]

2000 census

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 17,767 people, 7,018 households, and 4,968 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (9.7 people/km²). There were 7,583 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (3.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.38% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 6.09% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.90% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 3.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,018 households, out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.60% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,419, and the median income for a family was $43,646. Males had a median income of $30,723 versus $22,597 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,097. About 7.60% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School districts include:^[15]

There is also a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-affiliated tribal school, Meskwaki Settlement School.

The largest of which is South Tama Community School District, at the 3A designation. Second largest is North Tama Community Schools. Lastly both GMG and Meskwaki Settlement School with an eight-man designation.^{[citation needed]}^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Tama County is divided into twenty-one townships:

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	Tama	City	3,130
2	† Toledo	City	2,369
3	Traer	City	1,583
4	Dysart	City	1,281
5	Sac and Fox/Meskwaki Settlement	AIAN	1,120
6	Le Grand (mostly in Marshall County)	City	905
7	Gladbrook	City	799
8	Garwin	City	481
9	Chelsea	City	229
10	Clutier	City	213
11	Montour	City	203
12	Elberon	City	184
13	Lincoln	City	121
14	Vining	City	54

Notable people

George R. Struble (1836–1918). Iowa judge and politician from Toledo. Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, 1881–1883. Ardent prohibitionist. Brother of John T. Struble of Johnson County, and Congressman Isaac S. Struble of Plymouth County. Biography in the Journal of the House, memorial resolution of March 23, 1921.
Michael Emerson, born in Cedar Rapids and raised in Toledo, Emerson has been on Broadway and appeared on Lost.^[20]
Clifford Berry (1918-1963), born in Gladbrook, was a graduate student at Iowa State when he and John Vincent Atanasoff created the Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC), the first digital electronic computer, in 1939.

Politics

Between 1888 and 1984, Tama County was a reliable bellwether county, backing the nationwide winner in every presidential election except for 1916 and 1960. For the next seven election cycles, from 1988 to 2012, Tama County backed the Democratic candidate in each election, although George W. Bush came extremely close to winning the county in both 2000 and 2004, losing by slim margins of just 11 and 31 votes respectively. In 2016, Donald Trump moved the county back into the Republican camp, taking nearly 57% of the county's vote and winning it by more than 20%, the best margin in the county for any candidate since Ronald Reagan won the county during his 1980 landslide. Though Trump's margin of victory dropped slightly to just over 19% in 2020, he increased his vote share to almost 59%, the best vote share for a candidate of either party in Tama County since the 1964 landslide victory of Lyndon B. Johnson.

United States presidential election results for Tama County, Iowa^[21]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,303	58.61%	3,577	39.53%	168	1.86%
2016	4,971	56.80%	3,196	36.52%	585	6.68%
2012	4,098	45.45%	4,768	52.88%	151	1.67%
2008	3,820	43.15%	4,899	55.34%	133	1.50%
2004	4,456	49.51%	4,487	49.85%	58	0.64%
2000	4,034	48.51%	4,045	48.65%	236	2.84%
1996	2,986	38.52%	3,994	51.52%	772	9.96%
1992	2,948	35.39%	3,573	42.89%	1,809	21.72%
1988	3,362	41.96%	4,584	57.21%	66	0.82%
1984	4,882	54.30%	4,061	45.17%	47	0.52%
1980	4,840	56.27%	3,049	35.45%	713	8.29%
1976	4,379	48.08%	4,580	50.29%	148	1.63%
1972	5,058	56.96%	3,693	41.59%	129	1.45%
1968	4,955	53.55%	3,767	40.71%	531	5.74%
1964	3,543	36.88%	6,057	63.04%	8	0.08%
1960	5,535	52.78%	4,950	47.21%	1	0.01%
1956	5,952	55.25%	4,795	44.51%	26	0.24%
1952	7,061	63.30%	4,076	36.54%	17	0.15%
1948	4,763	47.50%	5,115	51.01%	150	1.50%
1944	5,249	49.67%	5,286	50.02%	32	0.30%
1940	5,865	49.31%	5,996	50.42%	32	0.27%
1936	4,737	41.11%	6,625	57.50%	160	1.39%
1932	4,051	37.10%	6,704	61.39%	165	1.51%
1928	5,589	53.58%	4,798	45.99%	45	0.43%
1924	5,177	55.27%	2,180	23.27%	2,010	21.46%
1920	6,352	70.01%	2,552	28.13%	169	1.86%
1916	3,061	53.37%	2,572	44.85%	102	1.78%
1912	1,179	21.57%	2,446	44.76%	1,840	33.67%
1908	2,774	49.78%	2,550	45.76%	248	4.45%
1904	3,127	55.12%	2,360	41.60%	186	3.28%
1900	3,290	53.45%	2,736	44.45%	129	2.10%
1896	3,054	53.27%	2,596	45.28%	83	1.45%