Jefferson County, Iowa

Not to be confused with Jefferson, Iowa.

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 15,663.^[2] The county seat is Fairfield.^[3] The county was formed in January 1839, and was named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.^[4][5] Jefferson County comprises the Fairfield, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Jefferson County
County
Courthouse in Fairfield is on the NRHP
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°01′53″N 91°56′41″W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	January 21, 1839
Named after	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Fairfield
Largest city	Fairfield
Area
• Total	437 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Land	436 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,663
• Estimate  (2023)[1]	15,440
• Density	36/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	https://jeffersoncounty.iowa.gov/

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,130 km²), of which 436 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[6] The Skunk River flows southward through the NE part of the county, while the SW part of the county is drained by the nearby Des Moines River, which flows southeastward through Van Buren and Wapello counties.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 34
• Iowa Highway 1
• Iowa Highway 78

Transit

Adjacent counties

• Keokuk County − northwest
• Washington County − northeast
• Henry County − east
• Van Buren County − south
• Wapello County − west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	9,904		—
1860	15,038		51.8%
1870	17,839		18.6%
1880	17,469		−2.1%
1890	15,184		−13.1%
1900	17,437		14.8%
1910	15,951		−8.5%
1920	16,440		3.1%
1930	16,241		−1.2%
1940	15,762		−2.9%
1950	15,696		−0.4%
1960	15,818		0.8%
1970	15,774		−0.3%
1980	16,316		3.4%
1990	16,310		0.0%
2000	16,181		−0.8%
2010	16,843		4.1%
2020	15,663		−7.0%
2023 (est.)	15,440	[7]	−1.4%
US Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2018[12]

Population of Jefferson County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 15,663 in the county, with a population density of 35.9000/sq mi (13.8611/km²). There were 7,689 housing units, of which 6,902 were occupied.^[2]

Jefferson County Racial Composition^[13]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	13,425	85.71%
Black or African American (NH)	409	2.61%
Native American (NH)	43	0.27%
Asian (NH)	500	3.2%
Pacific Islander (NH)	9	.06%
Other/Mixed (NH)	667	4.3%
Hispanic or Latino	610	4%

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,843 in the county, with a population density of 38.6893/sq mi (14.9380/km²). There were 7,594 housing units, of which 6,846 were occupied.^[14]

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States Census,^[15] there were 16,181 people, 6,649 households, and 4,281 families in the county. The population density was 37 inhabitants per square mile (14/km²). There were 7,241 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.02% White, 0.64% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 1.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,649 households, out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.

The county population contained 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 29.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,851, and the median income for a family was $43,819. Males had a median income of $32,066 versus $22,479 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,579. About 7.40% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Fairfield Business Park built north of Fairfield, in 1998.^[16][17]

Jefferson County's executive branch is a three-member board of supervisors who are elected to four-year terms. Other elected officials are county auditor, county sheriff, county treasurer, and county recorder.^[18]

Politics

Historically, Jefferson County heavily favored presidential candidates from the Republican Party. It is noted for being one of the few counties in Iowa that never voted for Woodrow Wilson, along with having never given a Democrat who carried the county over sixty percent of the vote. In recent decades, politics within the county have become more competitive. From 1992 to 2012, the county had been carried by the Democratic presidential candidate in every election with the exception of 2000, when George W. Bush obtained a plurality. In the 1996 presidential election, Jefferson County was the only county in the United States to give any (winning) candidate less than forty percent of the vote, with Bill Clinton winning the county 35.1% to Bob Dole's 34.4%. In 2024, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win a majority of the votes in Jefferson County since Ronald Reagan's 1984 performance. The county has been the strongest basis of support for the Natural Law Party's presidential campaigns, due to the presence of the Maharishi Vedic City and Maharishi International University.

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Iowa^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,353	52.16%	3,788	45.39%	205	2.46%
2020	4,443	49.59%	4,319	48.21%	197	2.20%
2016	3,748	45.95%	3,710	45.49%	698	8.56%
2012	3,436	40.28%	4,798	56.25%	296	3.47%
2008	3,324	38.51%	5,070	58.73%	238	2.76%
2004	3,648	44.05%	4,490	54.22%	143	1.73%
2000	3,248	43.03%	2,863	37.93%	1,437	19.04%
1996	2,541	34.35%	2,597	35.11%	2,259	30.54%
1992	2,541	30.46%	2,562	30.72%	3,238	38.82%
1988	3,614	49.53%	3,594	49.26%	88	1.21%
1984	4,727	61.19%	2,961	38.33%	37	0.48%
1980	4,099	56.16%	2,577	35.31%	623	8.54%
1976	3,746	51.71%	3,377	46.62%	121	1.67%
1972	4,628	64.83%	2,362	33.09%	149	2.09%
1968	4,130	59.52%	2,411	34.75%	398	5.74%
1964	2,755	39.84%	4,135	59.79%	26	0.38%
1960	4,942	64.00%	2,780	36.00%	0	0.00%
1956	4,807	62.76%	2,845	37.15%	7	0.09%
1952	5,630	69.09%	2,470	30.31%	49	0.60%
1948	3,906	55.11%	3,033	42.79%	149	2.10%
1944	4,335	59.03%	2,926	39.84%	83	1.13%
1940	4,891	58.67%	3,402	40.81%	43	0.52%
1936	4,037	50.84%	3,690	46.47%	214	2.69%
1932	2,955	41.56%	4,056	57.05%	99	1.39%
1928	4,919	69.05%	2,159	30.31%	46	0.65%
1924	4,062	61.61%	1,249	18.94%	1,282	19.44%
1920	4,558	74.62%	1,450	23.74%	100	1.64%
1916	2,167	54.61%	1,734	43.70%	67	1.69%
1912	1,378	37.63%	1,311	35.80%	973	26.57%
1908	2,271	58.29%	1,439	36.94%	186	4.77%
1904	2,330	62.23%	1,172	31.30%	242	6.46%
1900	2,482	58.73%	1,612	38.14%	132	3.12%
1896	2,478	57.24%	1,772	40.93%	79	1.82%

Communities

Cities

• Batavia
• Coppock (partial)^[20]
• Fairfield
• Libertyville
• Lockridge
• Maharishi Vedic City
• Packwood
• Pleasant Plain

Unincorporated communities

• Abingdon
• Beckwith^[21][22]
• East Pleasant Plain^[23][24][25]
• Germanville^[26][27]
• Glasgow^[28][29]
• Perlee^[30][31]
• Salina^[32][33][34]

Townships

• Black Hawk
• Buchanan
• Cedar
• Center
• Des Moines
• Liberty
• Lockridge
• Locust Grove
• Penn
• Polk
• Round Prairie
• Walnut

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Jefferson County.^[2]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Fairfield	City	9,416
2	Batavia	City	430
3	Maharishi Vedic City	City	277
4	Libertyville	City	274
5	Lockridge	City	244
6	Packwood	City	183
7	Pleasant Plain	City	84
8	Coppock (mostly in Henry and Washington Counties)	City	36

See also

• Iowa portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Iowa

Notes