# Buchanan County, Iowa

Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,565. Its county seat is Independence. The county was created in 1837 and was named in honor of Senator James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States.

## History

Buchanan County was formed on December 21, 1837, from parts of Dubuque County. It was named after US Senator James Buchanan, who would later go on to be President of the United States.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 573 square miles (1,480 km$^2$), of which 571 square miles (1,480 km$^2$) is land and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km$^2$) (0.4%) is water.

### Major highways

* Interstate 380
* U.S. Highway 20
* Iowa Highway 27
* Iowa Highway 150
* Iowa Highway 187
* Iowa Highway 281

### Adjacent counties

* Clayton County (northeast)
* Fayette County (north)
* Delaware County (east)
* Linn County (southeast)
* Benton County (southwest)
* Black Hawk County (west)
* Bremer County (northwest)

## Demographics
### 2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 20,565 in the county, with a population density of 35.9886/sq mi (13.8953/km$^2$). 97.06% of the population reported being of one race. 94.13% were non-Hispanic White, 0.35% were Black, 1.64% were Hispanic, 0.14% were Native American, 0.25% were Asian, 0.06% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.43% were some other race or more than one race. There were 8,886 housing units of which 8,198 were occupied.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,958 in the county, with a population density of 36.70/sq mi (14.172/km$^2$). There were 8,968 housing units, of which 8,161 were occupied.

### 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,093 people, 7,933 households, and 5,672 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14 people/km$^2$). There were 8,697 housing units at an average density of 15 units per square mile (5.8 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 98.41% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,933 households, out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,036, and the median income for a family was $45,421. Males had a median income of $30,212 versus $22,356 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,405. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Aurora
* Brandon
* Fairbank
* Hazleton
* Independence
* Jesup
* Lamont
* Quasqueton
* Rowley
* Stanley
* Winthrop

### Unincorporated communities

* Bryantsburg
* Doris
* Gatesville
* Littleton
* Monti
* Otterville
* Shady Grove
A number of historic communities in Buchanan County once appeared on state maps, but no longer exist. Hamerville was located east of Brandon at the intersection of Highway 150. Today, the site is the location of three farmhouses. Vista, once located between Brandon and Independence, appeared on maps frequently until the 1950s. This site is not even accessed by paved road. Kier, between Fairbank and Littleton, appeared on many maps in the 19th century and early 20th century. The area is now settled by Amish. Several towns named Middlefield existed southeast of Winthrop, but none are populated today. Newtonville was located a few miles south of Monti. The houses at Castleville were later moved to Aurora. Wise, once located between Independence and Jesup just north of Highway 939, was a train-stop between the 1920s and the 1950s. Little remains at the site. Kiene was founded in 1911 between Quasqueton and Monti, but was empty by 1955. Few or even no houses remain at any of these sites.

### Townships

Buchanan County is divided into sixteen townships:
* Buffalo
* Byron
* Cono
* Fairbank
* Fremont
* Hazleton
* Homer
* Jefferson
* Liberty
* Madison
* Middlefield
* Newton
* Perry
* Sumner
* Washington
* Westburg

### Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Buchanan County.
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2020 Census) |
| 1 | † Independence | City | 6,064 |
| 2 | Jesup (partially in Black Hawk County) | City | 2,508 |
| 3 | Fairbank (partially in Fayette County) | City | 1,111 |
| 4 | Winthrop | City | 823 |
| 5 | Hazleton | City | 713 |
| 6 | Quasqueton | City | 570 |
| 7 | Lamont | City | 429 |
| 8 | Brandon | City | 341 |
| 9 | Rowley | City | 270 |
| 10 | Aurora | City | 169 |
| 11 | Stanley (partially in Fayette County) | City | 81 |

## Education

School districts in the county include:
* East Buchanan Community School District
* Independence Community School District
* Jesup Community School District
* North Linn Community School District
* Oelwein Community School District
* Starmont Community School District
* Union Community School District
* Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District
* Wapsie Valley Community School District
* West Delaware County Community School District
In the period prior to July 1966 the county had two school districts, serving Amish groups, which did not operate high schools. The Iowa legislature had passed a law requiring school districts which did not operate school districts to merge into ones that did.

## Amish community

Buchanan County is home to the Hazleton Old Order Amish settlement, founded in 1914, that in 1987 had to six church districts (congregations) with an estimated population of about 1,200 Amish. The Buchanan Amish affiliation is named after Buchanan County.

## Politics

From the founding of the Republican Party in 1854 through 1984, the party won nearly every presidential election in Buchanan County. The exceptions were 1864, 1912 (when former Republican Theodore Roosevelt ran as a Progressive, allowing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the county with a sub-40% plurality), the two landslide elections of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and the landslide election of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The county took a leftward shift beginning in 1988, voting for the Democratic nominee in every election from then until 2012 and by a margin of at least 10% in each election in that span except for 1992 and 2004. In 2016, Donald Trump swung the county back to the right, shifting the county 29% to the right from 2012, as Trump won the county by a margin of over 15%. Trump improved on this performance in 2020, taking nearly 60% of the county's vote and winning by a margin of almost 21%, the best vote share for any candidate in the county since 1964. Trump did even better in 2024, winning more than 63% of Buchanan County's vote and achieving a margin of victory of more than 28%, the best Republican performance in the county since Dwight D. Eisenhower in his 1952 landslide.
United States presidential election results for Buchanan County, Iowa :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 6,790 | 63.16% | 3,766 | 35.03% | 194 | 1.80% |
| 2020 | 6,420 | 59.59% | 4,169 | 38.70% | 185 | 1.72% |
| 2016 | 5,510 | 53.75% | 3,970 | 38.72% | 772 | 7.53% |
| 2012 | 4,450 | 42.24% | 5,911 | 56.11% | 174 | 1.65% |
| 2008 | 4,139 | 40.02% | 6,050 | 58.50% | 153 | 1.48% |
| 2004 | 4,797 | 45.79% | 5,608 | 53.54% | 70 | 0.67% |
| 2000 | 4,092 | 43.49% | 5,045 | 53.61% | 273 | 2.90% |
| 1996 | 3,043 | 34.00% | 4,997 | 55.83% | 911 | 10.18% |
| 1992 | 3,313 | 34.32% | 4,166 | 43.15% | 2,175 | 22.53% |
| 1988 | 3,495 | 42.00% | 4,778 | 57.42% | 48 | 0.58% |
| 1984 | 4,965 | 54.25% | 4,129 | 45.12% | 58 | 0.63% |
| 1980 | 5,041 | 53.50% | 3,605 | 38.26% | 776 | 8.24% |
| 1976 | 4,794 | 51.98% | 4,258 | 46.17% | 171 | 1.85% |
| 1972 | 5,277 | 58.32% | 3,609 | 39.89% | 162 | 1.79% |
| 1968 | 4,541 | 52.35% | 3,670 | 42.31% | 463 | 5.34% |
| 1964 | 3,187 | 36.12% | 5,621 | 63.71% | 15 | 0.17% |
| 1960 | 5,179 | 54.90% | 4,251 | 45.07% | 3 | 0.03% |
| 1956 | 5,512 | 61.01% | 3,513 | 38.88% | 10 | 0.11% |
| 1952 | 6,431 | 67.81% | 3,019 | 31.83% | 34 | 0.36% |
| 1948 | 4,310 | 50.57% | 4,127 | 48.42% | 86 | 1.01% |
| 1944 | 4,653 | 54.69% | 3,841 | 45.15% | 14 | 0.16% |
| 1940 | 5,630 | 54.61% | 4,649 | 45.10% | 30 | 0.29% |
| 1936 | 4,734 | 47.85% | 5,025 | 50.79% | 135 | 1.36% |
| 1932 | 4,401 | 46.33% | 5,004 | 52.67% | 95 | 1.00% |
| 1928 | 5,885 | 65.36% | 3,099 | 34.42% | 20 | 0.22% |
| 1924 | 5,459 | 63.10% | 1,780 | 20.58% | 1,412 | 16.32% |
| 1920 | 6,334 | 79.20% | 1,600 | 20.01% | 63 | 0.79% |
| 1916 | 3,000 | 61.79% | 1,808 | 37.24% | 47 | 0.97% |
| 1912 | 1,271 | 26.93% | 1,866 | 39.54% | 1,582 | 33.52% |
| 1908 | 2,552 | 55.76% | 1,889 | 41.27% | 136 | 2.97% |
| 1904 | 2,798 | 60.93% | 1,545 | 33.65% | 249 | 5.42% |
| 1900 | 2,958 | 56.95% | 2,053 | 39.53% | 183 | 3.52% |
| 1896 | 2,865 | 55.30% | 2,233 | 43.10% | 83 | 1.60% |