Lincoln County, Wyoming

Lincoln County
County
Lincoln County Courthouse (Kemmerer)
Location within the U.S. state of Wyoming
Wyoming's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°16′N110°42′W / 42.26°N 110.70°W / 42.26; -110.70
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
Founded	February 21, 1911 (authorized) 1913 (organized)
Named for	Abraham Lincoln
Seat	Kemmerer
Largest city	Kemmerer
Area
• Total	4,095 sq mi (10,610 km2)
• Land	4,076 sq mi (10,560 km2)
• Water	19 sq mi (50 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,581
• Density	4.8/sq mi (1.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.lcwy.org

Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 19,581. ^[1] Its county seat is Kemmerer. ^[2] Its western border abuts the eastern borders of the states of Idaho and Utah.

History

Lincoln County was created February 21, 1911, with land detached from Uinta County. Its government was organized in 1913. ^[3]

The county was named for Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States. ^[4]

In 1921, portions of Lincoln County were annexed to create Sublette County and Teton County, leaving Lincoln County with its present borders.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,095 square miles (10,610 km²), of which 4,076 square miles (10,560 km²) is land and 19 square miles (49 km²) (0.5%) is water. ^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Teton County – north
• Sublette County – northeast
• Sweetwater County – east
• Uinta County – south
• Rich County, Utah – southwest
• Bear Lake County, Idaho – west
• Caribou County, Idaho – northwest
• Bonneville County, Idaho – northwest

National protected areas

• Bridger-Teton National Forest (part)
• Caribou-Targhee National Forest (part)
• Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
• Fossil Butte National Monument

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	12,487		—
1930	10,894		−12.8%
1940	10,296		−5.5%
1950	9,023		−12.4%
1960	9,018		−0.1%
1970	8,640		−4.2%
1980	12,177		40.9%
1990	12,625		3.7%
2000	14,573		15.4%
2010	18,106		24.2%
2020	19,581		8.1%
2023 (est.)	20,880	[6]	6.6%
US Decennial Census [7] 1870–2000 [8] 2010–2016 [1] 2020 [9]

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States Census, ^[10] there were 14,573 people, 5,266 households, and 3,949 families in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (1.5 people/km²). There were 6,831 housing units at an average density of 2 units per square mile (0.77 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.15% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 2.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.0% were of English, 14.6% German, 9.5% American and 6.1% Irish ancestry.

There were 5,266 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.23.

The county population contained 30.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,794, and the median income for a family was $44,919. Males had a median income of $37,353 versus $20,928 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,533. About 6.4% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 18,106 people, 6,861 households, and 4,957 families in the county. ^[11] The population density was 4.4 people per square mile (1.7 people/km²). There were 8,946 housing units at an average density of 2.2 units per square mile (0.85 units/km²). ^[12] The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% white, 0.8% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 2.0% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.3% of the population. ^[11] In terms of ancestry, 25.7% were English, 20.1% were American, 19.2% were German, 7.5% were Irish, and 5.0% were Italian. ^[13]

Of the 6,861 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.2% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.8% were non-families, and 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.4 years. ^[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $57,794 and the median income for a family was $65,347. Males had a median income of $49,087 versus $30,539 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,421. About 4.6% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. ^[14]

2014 American Community Survey

According to the 2014 American Community Survey, the largest ancestries/ethnicities in Lincoln County, Wyoming were:

• 27.3% were of English ancestry
• 17.9% were of German ancestry
• 10.6% were of "American" ancestry
• 7.5% were of Irish ancestry
• 4.2% were of Italian ancestry. ^[15]

Religion

Religion in Lincoln County,according to ARDA (2020) ^[16]

  LDS Church (51.6%)

  Evangelical Churches (7.5%)

  Catholic Church (3.6%)

  Mainline Protestant Churches (1.2%)

  Others (0.9%)

  None* (34.8%)

"Nones" is an unclear category. ^{[17] [18]} It is a heterogenous group of the not religious and intermittently religious. ^[19] Researchers argue that most of the "Nones" should be considered "unchurched", rather than objectively nonreligious; ^{[18] [20] [21] [22]} especially since most "Nones" do hold some religious-spiritual beliefs and a notable amount participate in behaviors. ^{[18] [20] [23] [24]} For example, 72% of American "Nones" believe in God or a Higher Power. ^[25]

Education

There are two school districts in the county, Lincoln County School District Number 1, ^[26] which includes Kemmerer High School, and Lincoln County School District Number 2, ^[27] which includes Star Valley High School. ^[28]

Politics

Lincoln County voters are reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1948 has the county selected the Democratic Party nominee.

United States presidential election results for Lincoln County, Wyoming ^[29]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	8,643	82.57%	1,509	14.42%	316	3.02%
2016	6,779	76.38%	1,105	12.45%	991	11.17%
2012	7,144	82.90%	1,287	14.93%	187	2.17%
2008	6,485	75.69%	1,823	21.28%	260	3.03%
2004	6,423	81.16%	1,364	17.24%	127	1.60%
2000	5,415	79.11%	1,184	17.30%	246	3.59%
1996	3,764	57.59%	1,803	27.59%	969	14.83%
1992	2,595	45.08%	1,430	24.84%	1,732	30.09%
1988	3,237	66.10%	1,592	32.51%	68	1.39%
1984	3,854	78.32%	1,021	20.75%	46	0.93%
1980	3,412	72.69%	1,063	22.65%	219	4.67%
1976	2,464	60.93%	1,555	38.45%	25	0.62%
1972	2,459	67.08%	969	26.43%	238	6.49%
1968	2,030	57.01%	1,246	34.99%	285	8.00%
1964	1,811	44.34%	2,273	55.66%	0	0.00%
1960	2,010	50.78%	1,948	49.22%	0	0.00%
1956	2,264	59.16%	1,563	40.84%	0	0.00%
1952	2,321	57.59%	1,709	42.41%	0	0.00%
1948	1,730	46.28%	1,925	51.50%	83	2.22%
1944	1,649	43.52%	2,140	56.48%	0	0.00%
1940	1,765	38.33%	2,839	61.65%	1	0.02%
1936	1,376	33.08%	2,747	66.03%	37	0.89%
1932	1,673	41.76%	2,275	56.79%	58	1.45%
1928	2,217	56.57%	1,687	43.05%	15	0.38%
1924	1,493	48.25%	576	18.62%	1,025	33.13%
1920	2,043	61.06%	1,154	34.49%	149	4.45%
1916	1,426	36.05%	2,378	60.11%	152	3.84%
1912	1,430	42.33%	1,028	30.43%	920	27.24%

Communities

City

• Kemmerer (county seat)

Towns

• Afton
• Alpine
• Cokeville
• Diamondville
• La Barge
• Opal
• Star Valley Ranch
• Thayne

Census-designated places

• Alpine Northeast
• Alpine Northwest
• Auburn
• Bedford
• Etna
• Fairview
• Fontenelle
• Freedom
• Grover
• Nordic
• Oakley
• Osmond
• Smoot
• Taylor
• Turnerville

Unincorporated communities

• Alpine Junction ^[30]
• Border Junction
• Frontier
• Hamsfork ^[31]
• Sage

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Wyoming
• Wyoming
  • List of cities and towns in Wyoming
  • List of counties in Wyoming
  • Wyoming statistical areas

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Long, John H., ed. (2004). "Wyoming: Individual County Chronologies". Wyoming Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library . Retrieved August 19, 2015.
4. Urbanek, Mae (1988). Wyoming Place Names. Missoula MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. ISBN   0-87842-204-8.
5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
7. "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
8. "Historical Decennial Census Population for Wyoming Counties, Cities, and Towns". Wyoming Department of Administration & Information, Division of Economic Analysis. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
9. 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Utah
10. "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
11. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
12. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
13. "Selected Social Characteristics in the US – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
14. "Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
15. "American FactFinder - Results". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
16. "Lincold County, Ohio - County Membership Report (2020)". The Association of Religion Data Archives.
17. Wuthnow, Robert (2015). Inventing American Religion : Polls, Surveys, and the Tenuous Quest for a Nation's Faith. Oxford University Press. pp. 151–155. ISBN   9780190258900.
18. Johnson, Byron; Stark, Rodney; Bradshaw, Matt; Levin, Jeff (2022). "Are Religious "Nones" Really Not Religious?: Revisiting Glenn, Three Decades Later". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 18 (7).
19. Blankholm, Joseph (2022). The Secular Paradox : On the Religiosity of the Not Religious. New York: New York University Press. p. 7. ISBN   9781479809509.
20. Johnson, Todd; Zurlo, Gina (2016). "Unaffiliated, Yet Religious: A Methodological and Demographic Analysis". In Cipriani, Roberto; Garelli, Franco (eds.). Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion: Volume 7: Sociology of Atheism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 58–60. ISBN   9789004317536.
21. Hout, Michael; Fischer, Claude S. (October 13, 2014). "Explaining Why More Americans Have No Religious Preference: Political Backlash and Generational Succession, 1987-2012". Sociological Science. 1: 423–447. doi: 10.15195/v1.a24 .
22. Hout, Michael (November 2017). "American Religion, All or Nothing at All". Contexts. 16 (4): 78–80. doi: 10.1177/1536504217742401 . S2CID   67327797.
23. Drescher, Elizabeth (2016). Choosing our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America's Nones. New York. pp. 21–26. ISBN   9780199341221.
24. Cox, Kiana (March 17, 2021). "Nine-in-ten Black 'nones' believe in God, but fewer pray or attend services". Pew Research Center.
25. "Key findings about Americans' belief in God". Pew Research Center. April 25, 2018.
26. "Lincoln County School District - Home". Lcsd1.k12.wy.us. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
27. "Lincoln County School District #2 – We Make It Possible". Lcsd2.org. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
28. Star Valley High School website.
29. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
30. Alpine Junction WY Google Maps (accessed 11 January 2019)
31. Hamsfork WY, Google Maps (accessed 11 January 2019)