Marshall County, Iowa

Marshall County
Marshall County
County
	The courthouse in Marshalltown is on the NRHP
	Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
	Iowa's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°02′03″N 93°00′04″W / 42.034166666667°N 93.001111111111°W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1846
Named for	John Marshall
Seat	Marshalltown
Largest city	Marshalltown
Area
• Total	573 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Land	572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	40,105
• Estimate (2023)	40,014
• Density	70/sq mi (27/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.marshallcountyia.gov

Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,105.^[1] The county seat and largest city is Marshalltown.^[2] The county was formed on January 13, 1846, and named after John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.^[3] Marshall County comprises the Marshalltown, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area. In 2010, the center of population of Iowa was located in Marshall County, near Melbourne.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 573 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 573 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[5]

Transit

Marshalltown Municipal Transit

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Jasper County (South)
Tama County (East)
Story County (West)
Hardin County (Northwest)
Grundy County (North)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	338		—
1860	6,015		1,679.6%
1870	17,576		192.2%
1880	23,752		35.1%
1890	25,842		8.8%
1900	29,991		16.1%
1910	30,279		1.0%
1920	32,630		7.8%
1930	33,727		3.4%
1940	35,406		5.0%
1950	35,611		0.6%
1960	37,984		6.7%
1970	41,076		8.1%
1980	41,652		1.4%
1990	38,276		−8.1%
2000	39,311		2.7%
2010	40,648		3.4%
2020	40,105		−1.3%
2023 (est.)	40,014	^[6]	−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2018^[11]

Population of Marshall County from US census data

2020 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Marshall County from ACS 5-year estimates

The 2020 census recorded a population of 40,105 in the county, with a population density of 70.1835/sq mi (27.0980/km²). 90.76% of the population reported being of one race. There were 16,745 housing units, of which 15,358 were occupied.^[1]

Marshall County Racial Composition^[12]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	27,438	68.42%
Black or African American (NH)	785	2%
Native American (NH)	153	0.4%
Asian (NH)	1,514	3.8%
Pacific Islander (NH)	33	0.08%
Other/Mixed (NH)	1,042	2.6%
Hispanic or Latino	9,140	22.8%

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 40,648 in the county, with a population density of 71.0232/sq mi (27.4222/km²). There were 16,831 housing units, of which 15,538 were occupied.^[13]

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 39,311 people, 15,338 households, and 10,460 families in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile (27 people/km²). There were 16,324 housing units at an average density of 28 units per square mile (11 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.44% White, 0.93% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.03% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 8.96%.^[14] were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 15,338 households 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of households were one person and 12.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

The age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median household income was $38,268 and the median family income was $46,627. Males had a median income of $33,809 versus $24,063 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,176. About 7.10% of families and 10.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.30% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Albion
Clemons
Ferguson
Gilman
Haverhill
Laurel
Le Grand
Liscomb
Marshalltown
Melbourne
Rhodes (previously named Edenville)^[15]
St. Anthony
State Center

Census-designated place

Green Mountain

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Marshall County.^[1]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Marshalltown	City	27,591
2	State Center	City	1,391
3	Le Grand (partially in Tama County)	City	905
4	Melbourne	City	786
5	Gilman	City	542
6	Albion	City	448
7	Liscomb	City	291
8	Rhodes	City	271
9	Laurel	City	220
10	Haverhill	City	165
11	Clemons	City	140
12	Green Mountain	CDP	113
13	Ferguson	City	97
14	St. Anthony	City	76

Politics

Prior to 1964, Marshall County was strongly Republican, never backing a Democratic presidential candidate from 1880 to 1960 and only failing to back a Republican candidate during those years in 1912 with a strong third party campaign by former president Theodore Roosevelt on the Bull Moose ticket. Since then, it has become far more of a swing county, having backed the national winner in the seven presidential elections from 1992 to 2016. That streak was broken in 2020, when Donald Trump won the county but lost nationally. The county is considered a bellwether polity.^[16]

United States presidential election results for Marshall County, Iowa^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	9,815	56.83%	7,134	41.31%	321	1.86%
2020	9,571	52.77%	8,176	45.08%	389	2.14%
2016	9,146	50.87%	7,652	42.56%	1,182	6.57%
2012	8,472	44.44%	10,257	53.80%	335	1.76%
2008	8,278	44.36%	10,023	53.71%	362	1.94%
2004	9,557	49.87%	9,443	49.27%	164	0.86%
2000	8,785	49.85%	8,322	47.22%	517	2.93%
1996	7,017	40.50%	8,669	50.04%	1,638	9.46%
1992	6,784	37.09%	8,303	45.40%	3,202	17.51%
1988	7,657	43.63%	9,760	55.62%	132	0.75%
1984	10,839	54.63%	8,809	44.40%	192	0.97%
1980	10,707	54.56%	7,114	36.25%	1,805	9.20%
1976	9,562	51.33%	8,695	46.67%	373	2.00%
1972	10,798	60.85%	6,618	37.30%	328	1.85%
1968	9,402	56.35%	6,362	38.13%	922	5.53%
1964	6,323	39.09%	9,815	60.68%	38	0.23%
1960	10,265	60.23%	6,761	39.67%	16	0.09%
1956	10,305	62.74%	5,755	35.04%	365	2.22%
1952	11,135	65.93%	5,314	31.46%	441	2.61%
1948	6,698	52.19%	5,602	43.65%	533	4.15%
1944	7,325	55.67%	5,598	42.55%	234	1.78%
1940	8,503	56.44%	6,497	43.13%	65	0.43%
1936	7,377	52.66%	6,297	44.95%	334	2.38%
1932	6,604	48.98%	6,385	47.36%	494	3.66%
1928	9,326	72.90%	3,384	26.45%	82	0.64%
1924	9,010	68.09%	1,516	11.46%	2,707	20.46%
1920	9,334	79.10%	2,166	18.36%	300	2.54%
1916	4,172	60.32%	2,414	34.90%	330	4.77%
1912	926	13.79%	2,162	32.19%	3,629	54.03%
1908	3,887	61.34%	1,941	30.63%	509	8.03%
1904	4,229	66.74%	1,203	18.98%	905	14.28%
1900	4,878	65.07%	2,329	31.07%	289	3.86%
1896	4,541	61.85%	2,626	35.77%	175	2.38%