Jackson County, Wisconsin

Jackson County
County
Jackson County courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°19′N90°49′W / 44.32°N 90.81°W / 44.32; -90.81
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1853
Named for	Andrew Jackson
Seat	Black River Falls
Largest city	Black River Falls
Area
• Total	1,000 sq mi (3,000 km2)
• Land	988 sq mi (2,560 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2)  1.3%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	21,145
• Estimate  (2023)	20,855
• Density	21.4/sq mi (8.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	3rd, 7th
Website	www.co.jackson.wi.us

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,145. ^[1] Its county seat is Black River Falls. ^[2] Jackson County was formed from Crawford County in 1853. It was named for President Andrew Jackson. ^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,000 square miles (2,600 km²), of which 988 square miles (2,560 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (1.3%) is water. ^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Clark County - north
• Wood County - east
• Juneau County - southeast
• Monroe County - south
• La Crosse County - southwest
• Trempealeau County - west
• Eau Claire County - northwest

Major highways

Interstate 94 U.S. Highway 10 U.S. Highway 12 Highway 27 (Wisconsin) Highway 54 (Wisconsin)

Highway 71 (Wisconsin) Highway 95 (Wisconsin) Highway 108 (Wisconsin) Highway 121 (Wisconsin)

Railroads

• Canadian National
• Union Pacific

Buses

• Black River Falls Public Transit

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	4,170		—
1870	7,687		84.3%
1880	13,285		72.8%
1890	15,797		18.9%
1900	17,466		10.6%
1910	17,075		−2.2%
1920	17,746		3.9%
1930	16,468		−7.2%
1940	16,599		0.8%
1950	16,073		−3.2%
1960	15,151		−5.7%
1970	15,325		1.1%
1980	16,831		9.8%
1990	16,588		−1.4%
2000	19,100		15.1%
2010	20,449		7.1%
2020	21,145		3.4%
2023 (est.)	20,855		−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census [5] 1790–1960 [6] 1900–1990 [7] 1990–2000 [8] 2010 [9] 2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, ^[1] the population was 21,145. The population density was 21.4 people per square mile (8.3 people/km²). There were 9,613 housing units at an average density of 9.7 units per square mile (3.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.8% White, 6.5% Native American, 2.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Jackson County

As of the census ^[10] of 2000, there were 19,100 people, 7,070 households, and 4,835 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile (7.3 people/km²). There were 8,029 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.58% White, 2.27% Black or African American, 6.16% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.4% were of German, 30.2% Norwegian and 5.2% Irish ancestry. 94.7% spoke English, 2.2% Spanish and 1.5% Winnebago as their first language.

There were 7,070 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.30 males.

In 2017, there were 227 births, giving a general fertility rate of 74.0 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 10th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 14 of the births occurred at home. ^[11] Additionally, there were 7 reported induced abortions performed on women of Jackson County residence in 2017. ^[12]

Communities

Jackson County townships map

Fairgrounds

Jackson County sign on County Highway HH

City

• Black River Falls (county seat)

Villages

• Alma Center
• Hixton
• Melrose
• Merrillan
• Taylor

Towns

• Adams
• Albion
• Alma
• Bear Bluff
• Brockway
• City Point
• Cleveland
• Curran
• Franklin
• Garden Valley
• Garfield
• Hixton
• Irving
• Knapp
• Komensky
• Manchester
• Melrose
• Millston
• North Bend
• Northfield
• Springfield

Census-designated places

• Hatfield
• Millston
• Mission
• Sand Pillow

Other unincorporated communities

• Brockway
• Buckholz Corners
• City Point
• Disco
• Fall Hall Glen
• Franklin
• Irving
• Levis
• North Bend
• North Branch
• Northfield
• Pray
• Price
• Requa
• Sechlerville
• Shamrock
• Spaulding
• Speck Oaks
• Vaudreuil
• Waterbury
• Winnebago Mission
• York

Ghost towns/neighborhoods

• Charter Oak Mills
• Clay
• Rogneys
• Wrightsville

Politics

United States presidential election results for Jackson County, Wisconsin ^[13]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,204	59.07%	4,157	39.58%	141	1.34%
2020	5,791	56.86%	4,256	41.79%	137	1.35%
2016	4,906	52.94%	3,818	41.20%	543	5.86%
2012	3,900	41.88%	5,298	56.89%	115	1.23%
2008	3,552	38.40%	5,572	60.23%	127	1.37%
2004	4,387	45.11%	5,249	53.97%	90	0.93%
2000	3,670	43.60%	4,380	52.04%	367	4.36%
1996	2,262	31.08%	3,705	50.90%	1,312	18.02%
1992	2,644	31.41%	3,681	43.73%	2,093	24.86%
1988	3,555	47.29%	3,924	52.20%	38	0.51%
1984	4,386	55.81%	3,427	43.61%	46	0.59%
1980	4,327	50.80%	3,629	42.61%	561	6.59%
1976	3,406	46.89%	3,735	51.42%	123	1.69%
1972	3,937	60.79%	2,445	37.75%	94	1.45%
1968	3,172	52.88%	2,293	38.22%	534	8.90%
1964	2,532	39.83%	3,818	60.06%	7	0.11%
1960	3,950	57.98%	2,849	41.82%	14	0.21%
1956	3,614	56.66%	2,755	43.20%	9	0.14%
1952	4,235	59.89%	2,819	39.87%	17	0.24%
1948	2,553	45.89%	2,921	52.51%	89	1.60%
1944	3,182	50.86%	3,040	48.59%	34	0.54%
1940	3,741	48.08%	3,975	51.09%	64	0.82%
1936	2,235	32.02%	4,537	65.01%	207	2.97%
1932	1,983	33.50%	3,813	64.42%	123	2.08%
1928	4,353	75.17%	1,364	23.55%	74	1.28%
1924	1,662	32.24%	255	4.95%	3,238	62.81%
1920	3,652	85.93%	410	9.65%	188	4.42%
1916	1,866	64.17%	963	33.12%	79	2.72%
1912	1,398	52.77%	606	22.88%	645	24.35%
1908	2,603	77.91%	631	18.89%	107	3.20%
1904	2,746	82.76%	479	14.44%	93	2.80%
1900	2,639	77.73%	651	19.18%	105	3.09%
1896	2,710	74.57%	778	21.41%	146	4.02%
1892	2,078	59.76%	1,160	33.36%	239	6.87%

Between 1928 and 1984, Jackson County voted for the nationwide winner in every election with the exception of 1944 (by less than 3%) and 1960 (one of the closest elections in American history). Then, from 1988 to 2012, like most of the rural counties in southwestern Wisconsin, it backed the Democratic candidate in each election, and did so by more than an 8% margin each time beginning in 1992. In 2016, once again like the rest of rural southwestern Wisconsin, Jackson County dramatically swung to the right, shifting from a 15% victory for Democrat Barack Obama in 2012 to a 12% victory for Republican Donald Trump in 2016. Trump further expanded his margin of victory to over 15% in 2020 and to nearly 20% in 2024, achieving the highest vote share for a Republican in the county since Richard Nixon in his 1972 landslide reelection.

Economy

The county's largest employer is the Ho-Chunk Nation, which employs roughly 3100 people combined in Jackson and Sauk counties. ^[14]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, Wisconsin

References

1. "2020 Decennial Census: Jackson County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  167.
4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
5. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
7. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
8. "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 5, 2015.
9. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
11. "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 23, 2019.
12. "Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin", Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18
13. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
14. "Ho-Chunk Nation". Wisconsin State Tribal Initiative. November 2010. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Ho-Chunk Nation is the largest employer in both Sauk and Jackson County employing roughly 3100 people.

Further reading

• Biographical History of Clark and Jackson Counties, Wisconsin . Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1891.

External links

• Jackson County
• Jackson County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Jackson County Health and Demographic Data

44°19′N90°49′W / 44.32°N 90.81°W / 44.32; -90.81