Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,710.[3] Its county seat is Eau Claire.[4] The county took its name from the Eau Claire River.[5]
Eau Claire County | |
|---|---|
 Eau Claire County Courthouse, February 2015 | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin | |
 Wisconsin's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 44°44′N 91°17′W / 44.73°N 91.29°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Wisconsin |
| Founded | 1856[1] |
| Named for | Eau Claire River |
| Seat | Eau Claire |
| Largest city | Eau Claire |
| Government | |
| • County Administrator | Kathryn Schauf |
| Area | |
| • Total | 645 sq mi (1,670 km2) |
| • Land | 638 sq mi (1,650 km2) |
| • Water | 7.3 sq mi (19 km2) 1.1% |
| Population | |
| • Total | 105,710 |
| • Density | 165.7/sq mi (64.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Website | www |
Eau Claire County is included in the Eau Claire, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Eau Claire-Menomonie WI Combined Statistical Area.
History
Eau Claire county was originally set off as the Town of Clearwater in Chippewa County in 1855. The name was changed to the Town of Eau Claire on March 31, 1856. The entire town was separated as Eau Claire County by an act of the Wisconsin State Legislature on October 6, 1856.[6][7]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 645 square miles (1,670 km2), of which 638 square miles (1,650 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (1.1%) is water.[8]
Adjacent counties
- Chippewa County – north
- Clark County – east
- Jackson County – southeast
- Trempealeau County – south
- Buffalo County – southwest
- Pepin County – west
- Dunn County – west
Demographics and religion statistics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 3,162 | — | |
| 1870 | 10,769 | 240.6% | |
| 1880 | 19,993 | 85.7% | |
| 1890 | 30,673 | 53.4% | |
| 1900 | 31,692 | 3.3% | |
| 1910 | 32,721 | 3.2% | |
| 1920 | 35,771 | 9.3% | |
| 1930 | 41,087 | 14.9% | |
| 1940 | 46,999 | 14.4% | |
| 1950 | 54,187 | 15.3% | |
| 1960 | 58,300 | 7.6% | |
| 1970 | 67,219 | 15.3% | |
| 1980 | 78,805 | 17.2% | |
| 1990 | 85,183 | 8.1% | |
| 2000 | 93,142 | 9.3% | |
| 2010 | 98,736 | 6.0% | |
| 2020 | 105,710 | 7.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010[13] 2020[2] | |||
2020 census
As of the census of 2020,[2] the population was 105,710. The population density was 165.7 people per square mile (64.0 people/km2). There were 44,966 housing units at an average density of 70.5 units per square mile (27.2 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.2% White, 4.2% Asian, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2000 census
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 93,142 people, 35,822 households, and 22,281 families residing in the county. The population density was 146 people per square mile (56 people/km2). There were 37,474 housing units at an average density of 59 units per square mile (23 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.4% were of German, 21.5% Norwegian and 7.0% Irish ancestry. 94.2% spoke English, 1.6% Hmong, 1.6% Spanish and 1.0% German as their first language.
There were 35,822 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.40% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.
In 2017, there were 1,191 births, giving a general fertility rate of 52.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the tenth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 99 of the births occurred at home, the third highest for Wisconsin counties.[15]
In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents were Catholic at 16,240 adherents, ELCA Lutheran at 15,067 adherents, Missouri Synod Lutheran at 6,953 adherents, LCMC Lutheran at 3,355 adherents, United Methodist at 2,177 adherents, non-denominational Christian at 1,557 adherents, Lutheran Brethren at 1,391 adherents, United Church of Christ at 1,046 adherents, Assemblies of God at 969 adherents, Amish at 794 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 757 adherents, ELS Lutheran at 708 adherents, and LDS (Mormon) at 703 adherents.[16]
Transportation
Major highways
Railroads
Buses
Airport
Eau Claire county is served by the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (KEAU).
Government
The legislative body of Eau Claire County is the non-partisan 29-member Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors.[17] Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district and the chairperson and vice-chair positions are elected from within members of the board.
The board meets in the Eau Claire County Courthouse in downtown Eau Claire,[18] with its weekly meetings televised on local public television and transcripts published online. Most items are approved on a "consent calendar" without discussion.[19] Public comment is limited to three minutes per individual per item.
Eau Claire County contains portions of the Wisconsin State Senate districts 23 and 31, represented by Kathy Bernier (R) and Jeff Smith (D) respectively. It also contains portions of Wisconsin State Assembly districts 68 (Jesse James [R]) and 93 (Warren Petryk [R]), as well as almost all of district 91 (Jodi Emerson [D]). At the federal level, the entire county is contained within Wisconsin's third congressional district, which is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Derrick Van Orden (R). At the Presidential level Eau Claire is solidly Democratic, having last voted Republican in 1984 for Ronald Reagan in his landslide re-election. Since 1984 the closest a Republican has come to winning Eau Claire was in 2000 when George W. Bush lost the county by 6.6 percent.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 25,341 | 43.49% | 31,620 | 54.26% | 1,314 | 2.25% |
| 2016 | 23,331 | 42.40% | 27,340 | 49.69% | 4,354 | 7.91% |
| 2012 | 23,256 | 42.43% | 30,666 | 55.95% | 884 | 1.61% |
| 2008 | 20,959 | 38.10% | 33,146 | 60.25% | 905 | 1.65% |
| 2004 | 24,653 | 44.47% | 30,068 | 54.24% | 716 | 1.29% |
| 2000 | 20,921 | 43.70% | 24,078 | 50.29% | 2,876 | 6.01% |
| 1996 | 13,900 | 34.41% | 20,298 | 50.26% | 6,192 | 15.33% |
| 1992 | 15,915 | 33.81% | 21,221 | 45.08% | 9,940 | 21.11% |
| 1988 | 17,664 | 45.27% | 21,150 | 54.20% | 209 | 0.54% |
| 1984 | 20,401 | 51.09% | 19,347 | 48.45% | 181 | 0.45% |
| 1980 | 17,304 | 44.46% | 17,602 | 45.22% | 4,016 | 10.32% |
| 1976 | 16,388 | 46.36% | 18,263 | 51.66% | 702 | 1.99% |
| 1972 | 15,883 | 51.33% | 14,300 | 46.21% | 760 | 2.46% |
| 1968 | 11,799 | 46.66% | 12,302 | 48.65% | 1,186 | 4.69% |
| 1964 | 8,700 | 35.48% | 15,775 | 64.33% | 46 | 0.19% |
| 1960 | 14,427 | 56.13% | 11,240 | 43.73% | 37 | 0.14% |
| 1956 | 13,122 | 58.48% | 9,276 | 41.34% | 41 | 0.18% |
| 1952 | 14,069 | 59.47% | 9,554 | 40.38% | 35 | 0.15% |
| 1948 | 7,825 | 43.37% | 9,971 | 55.27% | 246 | 1.36% |
| 1944 | 9,470 | 51.13% | 8,962 | 48.39% | 88 | 0.48% |
| 1940 | 9,595 | 48.38% | 10,129 | 51.07% | 108 | 0.54% |
| 1936 | 6,802 | 39.41% | 10,065 | 58.31% | 393 | 2.28% |
| 1932 | 7,487 | 48.80% | 7,565 | 49.31% | 291 | 1.90% |
| 1928 | 10,079 | 69.25% | 4,385 | 30.13% | 91 | 0.63% |
| 1924 | 5,149 | 46.46% | 629 | 5.68% | 5,305 | 47.87% |
| 1920 | 7,856 | 81.62% | 1,193 | 12.39% | 576 | 5.98% |
| 1916 | 2,922 | 53.00% | 2,290 | 41.54% | 301 | 5.46% |
| 1912 | 2,013 | 40.29% | 1,727 | 34.57% | 1,256 | 25.14% |
| 1908 | 3,981 | 64.50% | 1,859 | 30.12% | 332 | 5.38% |
| 1904 | 4,343 | 73.08% | 1,224 | 20.60% | 376 | 6.33% |
| 1900 | 4,378 | 66.44% | 1,967 | 29.85% | 244 | 3.70% |
| 1896 | 4,522 | 63.42% | 2,364 | 33.16% | 244 | 3.42% |
| 1892 | 2,719 | 47.80% | 2,383 | 41.90% | 586 | 10.30% |
Recreation
Attractions include the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Dells Mill Museum in Augusta, Dells Mill Water Powered Museum in Augusta, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp in Eau Claire, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Eau Claire.[22]
Communities
Cities
- Altoona
- Augusta
- Eau Claire (county seat; partly in Chippewa County)
Villages
Towns
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns/neighborhoods
- Hadleyville‡
- Nelsonville‡
- Oak Grove‡
- Porter's Mills‡
- Shawtown§
- Footnotes
‡ Historical community
§ Now part of the City of Eau Claire
See also
References
Further reading
- Bailey, William F. (ed.). History of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Past and Present. Chicago: C. F. Cooper, 1914.
External links
- Official website
- Old plat maps: 1878 1899-1900 1902 1910 1931 1945
- Eau Claire County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
- History of Eau Claire County Archived August 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Special Collections and Archives Archived August 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- Chippewa Valley Museum