Cherokee County, Iowa

Cherokee County, Iowa
Cherokee County Courthouse, July 2014
Location in the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	1851
Named for	Cherokee people
Seat	Cherokee
Largest city	Cherokee
Area
• Total	577 sq mi (1,494 km2)
• Land	577 sq mi (1,494 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 0.03%
Population
• (2010)	12,072
• Density	21/sq mi (8/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.cherokeecountyiowa.com

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,072. The county seat is Cherokee. The county was formed on January 15, 1851 from open territory. It was named after the Cherokee Indians.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 577 square miles (1,490 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.03%) is water.

The 2010 census recorded a population of 12,072 in the county, with a population density of 21.254/sq mi (8.206/km²). There were 5,777 housing units, of which 5,207 were occupied.

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,035 people, 5,378 households, and 3,597 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,850 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.33% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,378 households out of which 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91.