Walworth County, Wisconsin
Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478.[1] Its county seat is Elkhorn.[2] The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839.[3] It is named for Reuben H. Walworth.[4] Walworth County comprises the Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is located in Walworth County.
Walworth County features several major tourist destinations: Lake Geneva, Alpine Valley Resort, and Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Tourism is a large contributor to Walworth County's economy. It is Wisconsin's fifteenth largest county in population, but it is the sixth largest in terms of economic impact from tourism (nearly $1 billion in 2023).[5]
Geography
[edit | edit source]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 555 square miles (1,440 km2) is land and 21 square miles (54 km2) (3.7%) is water.[6]
Transportation
[edit | edit source]Major highways
[edit | edit source]- File:I-43.svg Interstate 43
- File:US 12.svg U.S. Highway 12
- File:US 14.svg U.S. Highway 14
- File:WIS 11.svg Highway 11 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 20.svg Highway 20 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 36.svg Highway 36 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 50.svg Highway 50 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 59.svg Highway 59 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 67.svg Highway 67 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 83.svg Highway 83 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 89.svg Highway 89 (Wisconsin)
- File:WIS 120.svg Highway 120 (Wisconsin)
Railroads
[edit | edit source]Buses
[edit | edit source]Airport
[edit | edit source]East Troy Municipal Airport Template:Airport codes, serves the county and surrounding communities
Adjacent counties
[edit | edit source]- Waukesha County (northeast)
- Racine County (east)
- Kenosha County (east)
- McHenry County, Illinois (southeast)
- Boone County, Illinois (southwest)
- Rock County (west)
- Jefferson County (northwest)
Demographics
[edit | edit source]Racial and ethnic composition
[edit | edit source]| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[7] | Pop 1990[8] | Pop 2000[9] | Pop 2010[10] | Pop 2020[11] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 69,090 | 71,834 | 85,428 | 88,690 | 88,104 | 96.62% | 95.78% | 91.11% | 86.76% | 82.74% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 416 | 443 | 747 | 904 | 1,166 | 0.58% | 0.59% | 0.80% | 0.88% | 1.10% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 114 | 193 | 177 | 196 | 229 | 0.16% | 0.26% | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0.22% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 312 | 483 | 592 | 819 | 1,002 | 0.44% | 0.64% | 0.63% | 0.80% | 0.94% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | x [12] | x [13] | 16 | 33 | 10 | x | x | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 245 | 30 | 46 | 67 | 268 | 0.34% | 0.04% | 0.05% | 0.07% | 0.25% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x [14] | x [15] | 617 | 941 | 3,149 | x | x | 0.66% | 0.92% | 2.96% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,330 | 2,017 | 6,136 | 10,578 | 12,550 | 1.86% | 2.69% | 6.54% | 10.35% | 11.79% |
| Total | 71,507 | 75,000 | 93,759 | 102,228 | 106,478 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020 census
[edit | edit source]As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478.[1] The population density was 191.7 people per square mile (74.0 people/km2). There were 53,146 housing units at an average density of 95.7 units per square mile (36.9 units/km2).
The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.6% from some other race, and 7.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.8% of the population.[16]
The median age was 41.0 years, with 20.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over.[17]
63.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 36.9% lived in rural areas.[18]
There were 42,378 households in the county, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.8% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[17]
There were 53,146 housing units, of which 20.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.9% were owner-occupied and 31.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.[17]
2000 census
[edit | edit source]At the 2000 census there were 93,759 people, 34,522 households, and 23,267 families in the county. The population density was 169 people per square mile (65 people/km2). There were 43,783 housing units at an average density of 79 units per square mile (31 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.49% White, 0.84% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 6.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[19] Of the 34,522 households 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of households were one person and 9.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.
The age distribution was 24.20% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.
In 2017, there were 918 births, giving a general fertility rate of 48.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the sixth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.[20]
Communities
[edit | edit source]
Cities
[edit | edit source]- Burlington (mostly in Racine County)
- Delavan
- Elkhorn (county seat)
- Lake Geneva
- Whitewater (partly in Jefferson County)
Villages
[edit | edit source]- Bloomfield
- Darien
- East Troy
- Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
- Genoa City (partly in Kenosha County)
- Mukwonago (mostly in Waukesha County)
- Sharon
- Walworth
- Williams Bay
Towns
[edit | edit source]Census-designated places
[edit | edit source]- Allen's Grove
- Big Foot Prairie
- Como
- Delavan Lake
- Lake Ivanhoe
- Lake Lorraine
- Lauderdale Lakes
- Lyons
- Potter Lake
- Springfield
Unincorporated communities
[edit | edit source]- Fairfield (partial)
- Honey Creek (partial)
- Honey Lake (partial)
- La Grange
- Lake Beulah
- Lauderdale
- Lauderdale Shores
- Little Prairie
- Millard
- Pell Lake
- Powers Lake
- Spring Prairie
- Tibbets
- Troy Center
- Voree
- Zenda
Ghost towns
[edit | edit source]Politics
[edit | edit source]| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 3,871 | 58.52% | 2,153 | 32.55% | 591 | 8.93% |
| 1896 | 5,347 | 70.41% | 1,894 | 24.94% | 353 | 4.65% |
| 1900 | 5,102 | 71.41% | 1,742 | 24.38% | 301 | 4.21% |
| 1904 | 4,892 | 73.42% | 1,370 | 20.56% | 401 | 6.02% |
| 1908 | 4,151 | 62.21% | 1,960 | 29.37% | 562 | 8.42% |
| 1912 | 2,096 | 35.88% | 2,125 | 36.38% | 1,620 | 27.73% |
| 1916 | 3,988 | 59.66% | 2,440 | 36.50% | 257 | 3.84% |
| 1920 | 8,437 | 80.68% | 1,631 | 15.60% | 390 | 3.73% |
| 1924 | 7,484 | 57.22% | 1,162 | 8.88% | 4,434 | 33.90% |
| 1928 | 9,846 | 69.36% | 4,253 | 29.96% | 97 | 0.68% |
| 1932 | 7,858 | 52.91% | 6,790 | 45.72% | 204 | 1.37% |
| 1936 | 8,462 | 52.67% | 7,093 | 44.15% | 511 | 3.18% |
| 1940 | 11,594 | 67.59% | 5,449 | 31.77% | 111 | 0.65% |
| 1944 | 10,901 | 65.34% | 5,696 | 34.14% | 86 | 0.52% |
| 1948 | 10,509 | 65.07% | 5,377 | 33.29% | 265 | 1.64% |
| 1952 | 16,906 | 75.57% | 5,417 | 24.21% | 49 | 0.22% |
| 1956 | 16,696 | 76.62% | 4,922 | 22.59% | 172 | 0.79% |
| 1960 | 16,395 | 67.19% | 7,986 | 32.73% | 20 | 0.08% |
| 1964 | 12,225 | 50.92% | 11,746 | 48.92% | 38 | 0.16% |
| 1968 | 15,040 | 61.85% | 7,505 | 30.87% | 1,770 | 7.28% |
| 1972 | 17,823 | 66.09% | 8,598 | 31.88% | 546 | 2.02% |
| 1976 | 18,091 | 57.79% | 12,418 | 39.67% | 798 | 2.55% |
| 1980 | 19,194 | 56.90% | 11,344 | 33.63% | 3,192 | 9.46% |
| 1984 | 20,595 | 67.06% | 9,877 | 32.16% | 238 | 0.77% |
| 1988 | 18,259 | 59.50% | 12,203 | 39.77% | 223 | 0.73% |
| 1992 | 15,727 | 42.74% | 11,825 | 32.14% | 9,244 | 25.12% |
| 1996 | 15,099 | 45.81% | 13,283 | 40.30% | 4,579 | 13.89% |
| 2000 | 22,982 | 56.80% | 15,492 | 38.29% | 1,984 | 4.90% |
| 2004 | 28,754 | 59.35% | 19,177 | 39.58% | 515 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 25,485 | 50.54% | 24,177 | 47.95% | 760 | 1.51% |
| 2012 | 29,006 | 55.46% | 22,552 | 43.12% | 745 | 1.42% |
| 2016 | 28,863 | 56.16% | 18,710 | 36.41% | 3,818 | 7.43% |
| 2020 | 33,851 | 58.77% | 22,789 | 39.56% | 960 | 1.67% |
| 2024 | 36,603 | 60.40% | 23,161 | 38.22% | 833 | 1.37% |
| 2016 | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% |
Owing to its Yankee heritage,[22] which contrasts with the German-American or Scandinavian-American character of most of Wisconsin, Walworth County was initially a stronghold of the Free Soil Party.[23] It voted for Martin van Buren and John P. Hale in Wisconsin's first two presidential elections,[24] and its opposition to the spread of slavery led to its population voting Republican in subsequent elections,[24] even resisting the appeal of Wisconsin native Robert La Follette when he carried the state in 1924 as a Progressive.[25]
Walworth County remains strongly Republican.[25][26] The only Democrat to carry the county was Woodrow Wilson in 1912, who won 36 percent of the vote. Even with the GOP mortally divided between President William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson only won the county by 29 votes. The best Democratic showings since then have been by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Barack Obama in 2008, both of whom received around 48 percent. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton are the only other Democrats since Wilson to cross the 40 percent mark, though Joe Biden came very close in 2020.
Education
[edit | edit source]School districts include:[27]
K-12:
Secondary:
Elementary:
Wisconsin School for the Deaf, a state-operated school, is in the county.
See also
[edit | edit source]- National Register of Historic Places listings in Walworth County, Wisconsin
- Walworth County Fairgrounds
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2020 Decennial Census: Walworth County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ↑ "Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies". Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent. December 28, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. open access
- ↑ "Economic Impact". Travel Wisconsin.
- ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- ↑ "1980 General Population Characteristics - Wisconsin - Table 15: Persons by Race and Table 16: Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race". United States Census Bureau – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Wisconsin - Table 3: Race and Hispanic Origin: 1990" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 23-111. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Walworth County, Wisconsin". United States Census Bureau.
- ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Walworth County, Wisconsin". United States Census Bureau.
- ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Walworth County, Wisconsin". United States Census Bureau.
- ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
- ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
- ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
- ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- ↑ Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Vites: An Electoral History, p. 14 ISBN 0299227448
- ↑ Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History, Volume 3, p. 11 ISBN 0299227405
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Beckwith, Albert Clayton; History of Walworth County, Wisconsin pp. 98-99 Published 1912 by B.F. Bowen and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 See Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 441-442 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
- ↑ See McDade, Philip J.; 'Congressional Restricting in Wisconsin' Archived January 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Walworth County, WI" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022. - [Text list]
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- History of Walworth County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1882.
External links
[edit | edit source]- Walworth County
- Walworth County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
- Travel Guide for Lake Geneva and Walworth County, WI
- Combination Atlas Map, 1873
Template:Walworth County, Wisconsin Template:Wisconsin Coordinates: 42°40′N 88°32′W / 42.67°N 88.54°W