Walworth County, Wisconsin

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. Its county seat is Elkhorn. The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839. It is named for Reuben H. Walworth. Walworth County comprises the Whitewater-Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area. Lake Geneva, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Alpine Valley Resort, and Music Theatre are located in Walworth County.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.7%) is water.
Transportation
Major highways
Interstate 43
U.S. Highway 12
U.S. Highway 14
Highway 11 (Wisconsin)
Highway 20 (Wisconsin)
Highway 36 (Wisconsin)
Highway 50 (Wisconsin)
Highway 59 (Wisconsin)
Highway 67 (Wisconsin)
Highway 83 (Wisconsin)
Highway 89 (Wisconsin)
Highway 120 (Wisconsin)
Railroads
Canadian National
East Troy Electric Railroad
Union Pacific
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
Buses
List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin
Airport
East Troy Municipal Airport , serves the county and surrounding communities
Adjacent counties
Waukesha County (northeast)
Racine County (east)
Kenosha County (east)
McHenry County, Illinois (southeast)
Boone County, Illinois (southwest)
Rock County (west)
Jefferson County (northwest)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, the population was 106,478. The population density was . There were 53,146 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 4.6% from other races, and 7.4% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 11.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 93,759 people, 34,522 households, and 23,267 families in the county. The population density was . There were 43,783 housing units at an average density of . 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.
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.
Communities
Cities
Burlington (mostly in Racine County)
Delavan
Elkhorn (county seat)
Lake Geneva
Whitewater (partly in Jefferson County)
Villages
Bloomfield
Darien
East Troy
Fontana-on-Geneva Lake
Genoa City (partly in Kenosha County)
Mukwonago (mostly in Waukesha County)
Sharon
Walworth
Williams Bay
Towns
Bloomfield
Darien
Delavan
East Troy
Geneva
Lafayette
La Grange
Linn
Lyons
Richmond
Sharon
Spring Prairie
Sugar Creek
Troy
Walworth
Whitewater
Census-designated places
Allen's Grove
Como
Delavan Lake
Lake Ivanhoe
Lake Lorraine
Lauderdale Lakes
Lyons
Potter Lake
Springfield
Turtle Lake
Unincorporated communities
Abells Corners
Adams
Bardwell
Big Foot Prairie (partial)
Bowers
East Delavan
Fairfield (partial)
Inlet
Heart Prairie
Hilburn
Honey Creek (partial)
Honey Lake (partial)
La Grange
Lake Beulah
Lake Como
Lake Lawn
Lauderdale
Lauderdale Shores
Linton
Little Prairie
Millard
North Bloomfield
Pell Lake
Powers Lake
Richmond
Spring Prairie
Tibbets
Troy
Troy Center
Voree
Zenda
Ghost towns
Army Lake
Mayhews
Politics
Owing to its Yankee heritage, 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. It voted for Martin van Buren and John P. Hale in Wisconsin's first two presidential elections, and its opposition to the spread of slavery led to its population voting Republican in subsequent elections, even resisting the appeal of Wisconsin native Robert La Follette when he carried the state in 1924 as a Progressive.
Walworth County remains strongly Republican. 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
School districts include:
K-12:
Burlington Area School District
Clinton Community School District
Delavan-Darien School District
East Troy Community School District
Elkhorn Area School District
Mukwonago School District
Palmyra-Eagle Area School District
Whitewater School District
Williams Bay School District
Secondary:
Big Foot Union High School District
Lake Geneva-Genoa City Union High School District
Elementary:
Fontana Joint No. 8 School District
Geneva Joint No. 4 School District
Genoa City Joint No. 2 School District
Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District
Linn Joint No. 4 School District
Linn Joint No. 6 School District
Sharon Joint No. 11 School District
Walworth Joint No. 1 School District
Wisconsin School for the Deaf, a state-operated school, is in the county.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Walworth County, Wisconsin
Walworth County Fairgrounds
References
Further reading
History of Walworth County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1882.
External links
Walworth County
Walworth County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Travel Guide for Lake Geneva and Walworth County, WI
Combination Atlas Map, 1873
1839 establishments in Wisconsin Territory
Populated places established in 1839