# Adams County, Iowa

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 3,704, making it Iowa's least-populous county. Its county seat is Corning.

## History

Adams County was established by the state legislature in 1851 and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams, or his son, the sixth President, John Quincy Adams (sources differ). The county was finally organized and separated from Pottawattamie County on March 12, 1853. Its original size was later reduced by the creation of Montgomery and Union counties.
The first county seat was Quincy, Iowa. In 1872, it was moved to Corning.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 426 square miles (1,100 km$^2$), of which 423 square miles (1,100 km$^2$) is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km$^2$) (0.5%) is water.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 34
* Iowa Highway 148

### Adjacent counties

* Cass County (northwest)
* Adair County (northeast)
* Union County (east)
* Taylor County (south)
* Montgomery County (west)

## Demographics
### 2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 3,704 in the county, with a population density of 8.7212/sq mi (3.3673/km$^2$). 97.11% of the population reported being of one race. 94.20% were non-Hispanic White, 0.32% were Black, 1.13% were Hispanic, 0.51% were Native American, 0.35% were Asian, 0.00% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.48% were some other race or more than one race. There were 1,888 housing units of which 1,614 were occupied.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 4,029 people, 1,715 households, and 1,126 families residing in the county. The population density was 9.5 inhabitants per square mile (3.7/km$^2$). There were 2,010 housing units at an average density of 4.7 per square mile (1.8/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.6% were German, 15.9% were Irish, 14.7% were English, and 4.9% were American.
Of the 1,715 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 46.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,368 and the median income for a family was $52,782. Males had a median income of $33,505 versus $25,332 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,549. About 6.0% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities, Towns, Villages and Hamlets

* Carbon
* Carl
* Corning (county seat)
* Lenox (mostly in Taylor County)
* Mt. Etna
* Nodaway
* Prescott
* Williamson

### Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 United States census.
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2020 Census) |
| 1 | † Corning | City | 1,564 |
| 2 | Prescott | City | 191 |
| 3 | Nodaway | City | 74 |
| 4 | Carbon | City | 36 |

## Government
### Civil Townships

* Carl
* Colony
* Douglas
* Grant
* Jasper
* Lincoln
* Mercer
* Nodaway
* Prescott
* Quincy
* Union
* Washington

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Adams County, Iowa :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 1,517 | 71.05% | 576 | 26.98% | 42 | 1.97% |
| 2020 | 1,530 | 70.83% | 590 | 27.31% | 40 | 1.85% |
| 2016 | 1,395 | 66.24% | 565 | 26.83% | 146 | 6.93% |
| 2012 | 1,108 | 50.71% | 1,028 | 47.05% | 49 | 2.24% |
| 2008 | 1,046 | 47.42% | 1,118 | 50.68% | 42 | 1.90% |
| 2004 | 1,317 | 56.65% | 977 | 42.02% | 31 | 1.33% |
| 2000 | 1,170 | 54.55% | 897 | 41.82% | 78 | 3.64% |
| 1996 | 920 | 39.55% | 1,070 | 46.00% | 336 | 14.45% |
| 1992 | 863 | 33.24% | 1,034 | 39.83% | 699 | 26.93% |
| 1988 | 1,080 | 45.38% | 1,283 | 53.91% | 17 | 0.71% |
| 1984 | 1,706 | 57.64% | 1,221 | 41.25% | 33 | 1.11% |
| 1980 | 1,779 | 59.62% | 940 | 31.50% | 265 | 8.88% |
| 1976 | 1,388 | 47.26% | 1,507 | 51.31% | 42 | 1.43% |
| 1972 | 1,814 | 59.57% | 1,161 | 38.13% | 70 | 2.30% |
| 1968 | 1,868 | 59.72% | 993 | 31.75% | 267 | 8.54% |
| 1964 | 1,321 | 40.48% | 1,941 | 59.49% | 1 | 0.03% |
| 1960 | 2,185 | 57.08% | 1,643 | 42.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,248 | 55.92% | 1,756 | 43.68% | 16 | 0.40% |
| 1952 | 3,129 | 69.06% | 1,383 | 30.52% | 19 | 0.42% |
| 1948 | 2,142 | 53.39% | 1,817 | 45.29% | 53 | 1.32% |
| 1944 | 2,540 | 57.56% | 1,868 | 42.33% | 5 | 0.11% |
| 1940 | 3,182 | 60.13% | 2,088 | 39.46% | 22 | 0.42% |
| 1936 | 2,953 | 56.06% | 2,249 | 42.69% | 66 | 1.25% |
| 1932 | 1,795 | 45.57% | 2,097 | 53.24% | 47 | 1.19% |
| 1928 | 2,958 | 66.04% | 1,479 | 33.02% | 42 | 0.94% |
| 1924 | 2,547 | 54.28% | 897 | 19.12% | 1,248 | 26.60% |
| 1920 | 2,845 | 62.43% | 1,670 | 36.65% | 42 | 0.92% |
| 1916 | 1,401 | 50.20% | 1,365 | 48.91% | 25 | 0.90% |
| 1912 | 913 | 32.81% | 1,215 | 43.66% | 655 | 23.54% |
| 1908 | 1,595 | 53.03% | 1,325 | 44.05% | 88 | 2.93% |
| 1904 | 1,761 | 58.92% | 1,003 | 33.56% | 225 | 7.53% |
| 1900 | 1,873 | 55.22% | 1,428 | 42.10% | 91 | 2.68% |
| 1896 | 1,736 | 49.77% | 1,701 | 48.77% | 51 | 1.46% |