Walworth County, Wisconsin

Walworth County
Walworth County
County
	Walworth County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
	Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°40′N 88°32′W / 42.67°N 88.54°W
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1839
Named for	Reuben H. Walworth
Seat	Elkhorn
Largest city	Whitewater
Area
• Total	577 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	555 sq mi (1,440 km2)
• Water	21 sq mi (50 km2) 3.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	106,478
• Density	191.7/sq mi (74.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 5th
Website	www.co.walworth.wi.us

Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478.^[2] Its county seat is Elkhorn.^[3] The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839.^[4] It is named for Reuben H. Walworth.^[5] Walworth County comprises the Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area. Lake Geneva, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Alpine Valley Resort, and Music Theatre are located in Walworth County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 555 square miles (1,440 km²) is land and 21 square miles (54 km²) (3.7%) is water.^[6]

Transportation

Major highways

Railroads

Buses

List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

Airport

East Troy Municipal Airport (FAA LID: 57C), serves the county and surrounding communities

Adjacent counties

Waukesha County (northeast)
Racine County (east)
Kenosha County (east)
McHenry County, Illinois (southeast)
Boone County, Illinois (southwest)
Rock County (west)
Jefferson County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	2,611	—
1850	17,862	584.1%
1860	26,496	48.3%
1870	25,972	−2.0%
1880	26,249	1.1%
1890	27,860	6.1%
1900	29,259	5.0%
1910	29,614	1.2%
1920	29,327	−1.0%
1930	31,058	5.9%
1940	33,103	6.6%
1950	41,584	25.6%
1960	52,368	25.9%
1970	63,444	21.2%
1980	71,507	12.7%
1990	75,000	4.9%
2000	93,759	25.0%
2010	102,228	9.0%
2020	106,478	4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790–1960^[8] 1900–1990^[9] 1990–2000^[10] 2010^[11] 2020^[2]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,^[2] the population was 106,478. The population density was 191.7 people per square mile (74.0 people/km²). There were 53,146 housing units at an average density of 95.7 units per square mile (36.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 4.6% from other races, and 7.4% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 11.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 93,759 people, 34,522 households, and 23,267 families in the county. The population density was 169 people per square mile (65 people/km²). There were 43,783 housing units at an average density of 79 units per square mile (31 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.49% White, 0.84% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 6.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[13] Of the 34,522 households 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of households were one person and 9.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

The age distribution was 24.20% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

In 2017, there were 918 births, giving a general fertility rate of 48.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the sixth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.^[14]

Communities

Cities

Burlington (mostly in Racine County)
Delavan

Elkhorn (county seat)
Lake Geneva
Whitewater (partly in Jefferson County)

Villages

Towns

Census-designated places

Turtle Lake

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Politics

Owing to its Yankee heritage,^[15] which contrasts with the German-American or Scandinavian-American character of most of Wisconsin, Walworth County was initially a stronghold of the Free Soil Party.^[16] It voted for Martin van Buren and John P. Hale in Wisconsin's first two presidential elections,^[17] and its opposition to the spread of slavery led to its population voting Republican in subsequent elections,^[17] even resisting the appeal of Wisconsin native Robert La Follette when he carried the state in 1924 as a Progressive.^[18]

Walworth^[18] County remains strongly Republican.^[19] The only Democrat to carry the county was Woodrow Wilson in 1912, who won 36 percent of the vote. Even with the GOP mortally divided between President William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson only won the county by 29 votes. The best Democratic showings since then have been by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Barack Obama in 2008, both of whom received around 48 percent. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton are the only other Democrats since Wilson to cross the 40 percent mark, though Joe Biden came very close in 2020.

United States presidential election results for Walworth County, Wisconsin^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	33,851	58.77%	22,789	39.56%	960	1.67%
2016	28,863	56.16%	18,710	36.41%	3,818	7.43%
2012	29,006	55.46%	22,552	43.12%	745	1.42%
2008	25,485	50.54%	24,177	47.95%	760	1.51%
2004	28,754	59.35%	19,177	39.58%	515	1.06%
2000	22,982	56.80%	15,492	38.29%	1,984	4.90%
1996	15,099	45.81%	13,283	40.30%	4,579	13.89%
1992	15,727	42.74%	11,825	32.14%	9,244	25.12%
1988	18,259	59.50%	12,203	39.77%	223	0.73%
1984	20,595	67.06%	9,877	32.16%	238	0.77%
1980	19,194	56.90%	11,344	33.63%	3,192	9.46%
1976	18,091	57.79%	12,418	39.67%	798	2.55%
1972	17,823	66.09%	8,598	31.88%	546	2.02%
1968	15,040	61.85%	7,505	30.87%	1,770	7.28%
1964	12,225	50.92%	11,746	48.92%	38	0.16%
1960	16,395	67.19%	7,986	32.73%	20	0.08%
1956	16,696	76.62%	4,922	22.59%	172	0.79%
1952	16,906	75.57%	5,417	24.21%	49	0.22%
1948	10,509	65.07%	5,377	33.29%	265	1.64%
1944	10,901	65.34%	5,696	34.14%	86	0.52%
1940	11,594	67.59%	5,449	31.77%	111	0.65%
1936	8,462	52.67%	7,093	44.15%	511	3.18%
1932	7,858	52.91%	6,790	45.72%	204	1.37%
1928	9,846	69.36%	4,253	29.96%	97	0.68%
1924	7,484	57.22%	1,162	8.88%	4,434	33.90%
1920	8,437	80.68%	1,631	15.60%	390	3.73%
1916	3,988	59.66%	2,440	36.50%	257	3.84%
1912	2,096	35.88%	2,125	36.38%	1,620	27.73%
1908	4,151	62.21%	1,960	29.37%	562	8.42%
1904	4,892	73.42%	1,370	20.56%	401	6.02%
1900	5,102	71.41%	1,742	24.38%	301	4.21%
1896	5,347	70.41%	1,894	24.94%	353	4.65%
1892	3,871	58.52%	2,153	32.55%	591	8.93%

Education

School districts include:^[21]

K-12:

Secondary:

Elementary:

Wisconsin School for the Deaf, a state-operated school, is in the county.

References

^ "County Directory - Walworth County". Wisconsin Counties Association. Retrieved May 13, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "2020 Decennial Census: Walworth County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies". Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
^ "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent. December 28, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
^ "County Population Totals: 2010-2020". Retrieved June 20, 2021.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ "Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables". Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
^ Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Vites: An Electoral History, p. 14 ISBN 0299227448
^ Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History, Volume 3, p. 11 ISBN 0299227405
^ ^a ^b Beckwith, Albert Clayton; History of Walworth County, Wisconsin pp. 98-99 Published 1912 by B.F. Bowen and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana
^ ^a ^b See Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 441-442 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
^ See McDade, Philip J.; 'Congressional Restricting in Wisconsin' Archived January 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Walworth County, WI" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022. - [Text list]