Tama County, Iowa

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

Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. The county seat is Toledo and the largest city is Tama.

History

Tama county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki people.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

x20px U.S. Highway 30
x20px U.S. Highway 63
x20px Iowa Highway 8
x20px Iowa Highway 21
x20px Iowa Highway 96
x20px Iowa Highway 146

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

2020 census

thumb|right|Population of Tama County from the U.S. census data

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 17,135 and a population density of .

The median age was 42.0 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.

30.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 69.3% lived in rural areas.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Tama County Racial Composition

!Race

!Number

!Percent

|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)

|0.01%

|Other/Mixed (NH)

|582

|3.4%

|Hispanic or Latino

|1,804

|10.53%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census recorded a population of 17,767 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,766 housing units, of which 6,947 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 17,767 people, 7,018 households, and 4,968 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,583 housing units at an average density of . 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:

Belle Plaine Community School District
Benton Community School District
East Marshall Community School District
GMG Community School District
Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District
Grundy Center Community School District
North Tama County Community School District
South Tama County Community School District
Union Community School District

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.

Communities

Cities

Chelsea
Clutier
Dysart
Elberon
Garwin
Gladbrook
Le Grand
Lincoln
Montour
Tama
Toledo
Traer
Vining

thumb|right|200px|Meskwaki Settlement water tower

Unincorporated communities

Buckingham
Dinsdale
Haven
Long Point
Meskwaki Settlement

Townships

Tama County is divided into twenty-one townships:

Buckingham
Carlton
Carroll
Clark
Columbia
Crystal
Geneseo
Grant
Highland
Howard
Indian Village
Lincoln
Oneida
Otter Creek
Perry
Richland
Salt Creek
Spring Creek
Tama
Toledo
York

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Tama County.

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.

References

External links

IAGenWeb History, Biographies, Records and more