Black Hawk County, Iowa Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Black Hawk County
U.S. county
Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1843
Named for	Black Hawk
Seat	Waterloo
Largest city	Waterloo
Area
• Total	573 sq mi (1,480 km²)
• Land	566 sq mi (1,470 km²)
• Water	6.9 sq mi (18 km²) 1.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	131,144
• Density	228.87/sq mi (88.37/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Black Hawk County is a county in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 131,144, making it Iowa's fifth-most populous county. The county seat is Waterloo.

Black Hawk County is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
Demographics
- 2020 census
- 2010 census
Communities
See also

History

Black Hawk County was formed on February 17, 1843 from sections of Buchanan County. It was named after Black Hawk, a Sauk leader during the 1832 Black Hawk War.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 573 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 566 square miles (1,470 km²) is land and 6.9 square miles (18 km²) (1.2%) is water.

The Cedar River roughly divides the county in half from the northwest to the southeast corner. The land is mostly level since much of it is on the river's flood plain.

Major highways

Interstate 380
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 63
U.S. Route 218
Iowa Highway 21
Iowa Highway 27
Iowa Highway 57
Iowa Highway 58
Iowa Highway 175
Iowa Highway 281

Adjacent counties

Bremer County (north)
Buchanan County (east)
Benton County (southeast)
Tama County (southwest)
Grundy County (west)
Butler County (northwest)
Fayette County (northeast)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	135	—
1860	8,244	6,006.7%
1870	21,706	163.3%
1880	23,913	10.2%
1890	24,219	1.3%
1900	32,399	33.8%
1910	44,865	38.5%
1920	56,570	26.1%
1930	69,146	22.2%
1940	79,946	15.6%
1950	100,448	25.6%
1960	122,482	21.9%
1970	132,916	8.5%
1980	137,961	3.8%
1990	123,798	−10.3%
2000	128,012	3.4%
2010	131,090	2.4%
2020	131,144	0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019

Population of Black Hawk County from US census data

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 131,144 in the county, with a population density of 229.5011/sq mi (88.6109/km²). 94.55% of the population reported being of one race. 73.49% were non-Hispanic White, 10.43% were Black, 4.92% were Hispanic, 0.32% were Native American, 2.61% were Asian, 0.65% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 7.57% were some other race or more than one race. There were 58,559 housing units of which 54,223 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 131,090 in the county, with a population density of 231.20/sq mi (89.27/km²). There were 55,887 housing units, of which 52,470 were occupied.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Washburn

Other unincorporated communities

Dewar
Eagle Center
Finchford
Glasgow
Voorhies

Townships

Black Hawk County is divided into seventeen townships:

Barclay
Bennington
Big Creek
Black Hawk
Cedar
Cedar Falls
Eagle
East Waterloo
Fox
Lester
Lincoln
Mount Vernon
Orange
Poyner
Spring Creek
Union
Washington

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Black Hawk County.

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Waterloo	City	68,406
2	Cedar Falls	City	39,260
3	Evansdale	City	4,751
4	Jesup (mostly in Buchanan County)	City	2,520
5	La Porte City	City	2,285
6	Hudson	City	2,282
7	Elk Run Heights	City	1,117
8	Janesville (mostly in Bremer County)	City	930
9	Washburn	CDP	876
10	Dunkerton	City	852
11	Raymond	City	788
12	Gilbertville	City	712

Black Hawk County, Iowa facts for kids

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