Kenosha County, Wisconsin

Last updated

Kenosha County
County
Kenosha County Court House.jpg
Kenosha County Courthouse and Jail
Map of Wisconsin highlighting Kenosha County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin in United States.svg
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°34′22″N87°50′23″W / 42.5728°N 87.83981°W / 42.5728; -87.83981
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin
FoundedJanuary 30, 1850
Seat Kenosha
Largest cityKenosha
Area
 • Total754 sq mi (1,950 km2)
 • Land272 sq mi (700 km2)
 • Water482 sq mi (1,250 km2)  64%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total169,151 Increase2.svg
 • Density224.3/sq mi (86.6/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 1st
Website www.kenoshacounty.org

Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. [1] [2] The county shares the same name as its county seat, the city of Kenosha, [3] the fourth largest city in Wisconsin. [1] Kenosha County is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, the fourth most-populous metropolitan area in North America. Kenosha County is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan.

Contents

The county has a direct rail link to Chicago via Metra's Union Pacific / North Line. Since 2000, the county saw a population increase of 12.6%, higher than the overall Wisconsin growth of 6.0%. [4] According to Business Insider, Kenosha County is an exurb and benefits as part of the Chicago metropolitan area. [5] In 2022, Kenosha County was ranked 16th out of 72 Wisconsin counties for tourism revenue, at $424 million in 2022; a 13.6% increase over 2021. Kenosha County's previous record level was in 2019 at $391 million. [6]

History

The Potowatomi inhabited the area that would become Kenosha County for centuries prior to the acquisition of the area in 1833. The city of Kenosha was founded in 1835, and Kenosha County was formed from Racine County on January 30, 1850. [7] Its location led to development and factories being built in the 19th century. Manufacturing continued to be a key component of the economy into the 20th century. [8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 754 square miles (1,950 km2), of which 272 square miles (700 km2) is land and 482 square miles (1,250 km2) (64%) is water. [9] Although the county contains area from Lake Michigan, it is the fourth-smallest county in Wisconsin by land area. [10]

Major highways

Railroads

Buses

Airport

Kenosha Regional Airport (KENW) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1850 10,734—
1860 13,90029.5%
1870 13,147−5.4%
1880 13,5503.1%
1890 15,58115.0%
1900 21,70739.3%
1910 32,92951.7%
1920 51,28455.7%
1930 63,27723.4%
1940 63,5050.4%
1950 75,23818.5%
1960 100,61533.7%
1970 117,91717.2%
1980 123,1374.4%
1990 128,1814.1%
2000 149,57716.7%
2010 166,42611.3%
2020 169,1511.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [11]
1790–1960 [12] 1900–1990 [13]
1990–2000 [14] 2010–2020 [15] 2020 census [2]
2000 Census Age Pyramid for Kenosha County USA Kenosha County, Wisconsin age pyramid.svg
2000 Census Age Pyramid for Kenosha County

As of the census [16] of 2000, there were 149,577 people, 56,057 households, and 38,455 families residing in the county. The population density was 548 people per square mile (212 people/km2). There were 59,989 housing units at an average density of 220 units per square mile (85 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.38% White, 5.08% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.29% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. 7.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.8% were of German, 10.4% Italian, 7.9% Irish, 7.6% Polish and 7.5% English ancestry.

There were 56,057 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males.

In 2017, there were 1,873 births, giving a general fertility rate of 55.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 13th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. [17]

Government

The county legislature is known as the Board of Supervisors. It consists of 23 members, each elected from single-member districts. The county executive is elected in a spring countywide, nonpartisan vote. The county executive is Samantha Kerkman. [18] The district attorney, treasurer, clerk, and register of deeds are elected in fall countywide, partisan elections held in presidential years, while the sheriff and clerk of circuit court are elected in fall countywide, partisan elections held in gubernatorial years.

Politics

In presidential elections, Kenosha County has voted Democratic for most of the past century. In 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the county since President Nixon in 1972. Trump won it again in 2020, this time with an outright majority of the vote, marking the first consecutive victories for the GOP in Kenosha County since 1928.

United States presidential election results for Kenosha County, Wisconsin [19]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 44,97250.68%42,19347.55%1,5731.77%
2016 36,03747.23%35,79946.92%4,4685.86%
2012 34,97743.24%44,86755.46%1,0531.30%
2008 31,60940.12%45,83658.18%1,3441.71%
2004 35,58746.56%40,10752.48%7340.96%
2000 28,89145.35%32,42950.90%2,3893.75%
1996 18,29634.06%27,96452.06%7,45713.88%
1992 19,85432.11%27,34144.21%14,64223.68%
1988 21,66141.55%30,08957.72%3790.73%
1984 26,11846.89%29,23352.49%3440.62%
1980 24,48143.82%26,73847.86%4,6448.31%
1976 22,34943.61%27,58553.82%1,3162.57%
1972 24,04153.93%19,44143.61%1,0942.45%
1968 17,08940.57%21,42750.86%3,6108.57%
1964 14,76432.55%30,52267.29%700.15%
1960 19,96946.43%22,95653.37%860.20%
1956 21,36755.08%17,09444.06%3350.86%
1952 18,91748.72%19,76850.91%1420.37%
1948 12,78039.80%17,98756.02%1,3424.18%
1944 12,43639.96%18,32558.88%3601.16%
1940 12,18240.91%17,17457.68%4211.41%
1936 7,26826.68%18,13766.57%1,8406.75%
1932 7,30730.57%14,37360.13%2,2239.30%
1928 11,33050.66%10,63847.57%3951.77%
1924 10,34155.45%1,5178.13%6,79136.41%
1920 9,79177.81%1,72413.70%1,0698.49%
1916 3,53750.99%2,81340.55%5878.46%
1912 1,67127.21%2,21636.09%2,25436.70%
1908 3,40954.50%2,00632.07%84013.43%
1904 3,29360.86%1,59229.42%5269.72%
1900 3,07858.37%2,10139.84%941.78%
1896 2,82760.54%1,73237.09%1112.38%
1892 1,62844.71%1,92852.95%852.33%

Communities

City

Villages

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns/neighborhoods

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Demographic Services Center 2021 Population Estimates: Wisconsin's Moderate Growth Continues" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "QuickFacts Kenosha County, Wisconsin; United States". census.gov. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Here's How Iron Got Its Name". The Rhinelander Daily News. June 16, 1932. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ "Kenosha County is growing". kaba.org. Kenosha Area Business Alliance. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  5. ↑ Winck, Ben (August 1, 2021). "Forget the suburbs, the 'exurbs' are the place to be". businessinsider.com. Business Insider . Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Record-Breaking Year for Kenosha County Tourism in 2022". Kenosha News. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Kenosha County". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee . Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ WHS Library Archives Staff (August 16, 2012). "A Brief History of Kenosha, Wisconsin". Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  9. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Kenosha County, Wisconsin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  13. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ "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 December 18, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "Samantha Kerkman: Republican County Executive Elected In Kenosha County". April 6, 2022. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  19. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnebago County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,730. Its county seat is Oshkosh. It was named for the historic Winnebago people, a federally recognized Native American tribe now known as the Ho-Chunk Nation. Chief Oshkosh was a Menominee leader in the area. Winnebago County comprises the Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washburn County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Washburn County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after Governor Cadwallader C. Washburn. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,623. Its county seat is Shell Lake. The county was created in 1883.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walworth County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478. Its county seat is Elkhorn. The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839. It is named for Reuben H. Walworth. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Rock County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 163,687. Its county seat is Janesville. Rock County comprises the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racine County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Racine County is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a part of the Wisconsin Territory. Racine County comprises the Racine metropolitan statistical area. This area is part of the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha combined statistical area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 792 square miles (2,050 km2), of which 333 square miles (860 km2) is land and 460 square miles (1,200 km2) (58%) is water. The county's unemployment rate was 5.6% in June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oneida County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Oneida County is a county in the state of Wisconsin, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 37,845. Its county seat is Rhinelander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous county nationwide; Milwaukee, its eponymous county seat, is also the most populous city in the state. The county was created in 1834 as part of Michigan Territory and organized the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquette County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Marquette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,592. Its county seat is Montello. The county was created in 1836 from the Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marinette County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Marinette County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,872. Its county seat is Marinette. Marinette County is part of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathon County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the county stretched to the northern border with the upper Michigan peninsula. It is named after the battlefield at Marathon, Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Lake County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Green Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,018. Its county seat is Green Lake. In 2020, the center of population of Wisconsin was located in Green Lake County, near the city of Markesan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du Lac is French for "bottom of the lake", given so because of the county's location at the southern shore of Lake Winnebago. Fond du Lac County comprises the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Holyland region is in northeastern Fond du Lac County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Dodge County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 89,396. Its county seat is Juneau. The county was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and organized in 1844.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dane County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,490. Its county seat and largest city is Portage. The county was created in 1846 as part of Wisconsin Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barron County, Wisconsin</span> County in Wisconsin, United States

Barron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,711. Its county seat is Barron. The county was created in 1859 and later organized in 1874.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde County, South Dakota</span> County in South Dakota, United States

Hyde County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,262, making it the second-least populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Highmore. The county was founded in 1873, as a county of the Dakota Territory, and organized in 1883. It was named for James Hyde, a member of legislature in the 1870s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stillwater County, Montana</span> County in Montana, United States

Stillwater County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,963. Its county seat is Columbus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake County, Minnesota</span> County in Minnesota, United States

Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,905. Its county seat is Two Harbors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatland, Kenosha County, Wisconsin</span> Town in Wisconsin, United States

Wheatland is a town in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,391 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Powers Lake is located partially in the town. The unincorporated communities of Lily Lake, New Munster, and Slades Corners are also located in the town.

References

42°34′22″N87°50′23″W / 42.5728°N 87.83981°W / 42.5728; -87.83981

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.