Richland County, Wisconsin

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Richland County, Wisconsin
Richland County Courthouse
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded	1850
Seat	Richland Center
Largest city	Richland Center
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	589 sq mi (1,526 km²) 586 sq mi (1,518 km²) 3.1 sq mi (8 km²), 0.5%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	17,304
Congressional districts	2nd, 3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	http://co.richland.wi.us/index.shtml

Richland County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,304. Its county seat is Richland Center. The county was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1842 and organized in 1850. It is named for the high quality of its soil. Some rural areas in the county have their power provided by the Richland Electric Cooperative.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 589 square miles (1,530 km²), of which 586 square miles (1,520 km²) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• Highway 56 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 58 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 60 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 80 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 130 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 131 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 154 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 171 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 193 (Wisconsin)

Airport

Richland Airport (93C) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

• Vernon County – north
• Sauk County – east
• Iowa County – southeast
• Grant County – southwest
• Crawford County – west

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	903		—
1860	9,732		977.7%
1870	15,731		61.6%
1880	18,174		15.5%
1890	19,121		5.2%
1900	19,483		1.9%
1910	18,809		−3.5%
1920	19,823		5.4%
1930	19,525		−1.5%
1940	20,381		4.4%
1950	19,245		−5.6%
1960	17,684		−8.1%
1970	17,079		−3.4%
1980	17,476		2.3%
1990	17,521		0.3%
2000	17,924		2.3%
2010	18,021		0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Richland County

Farm along Highway 58 in rural Richland County near Cazenovia

Sign marking entrance into Richland County, with countryside in background

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,924 people, 7,118 households, and 4,833 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 8,164 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.39% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.7% were of German, 12.5% Norwegian, 10.3% Irish, 9.5% English and 8.8% American ancestry. 97.1% spoke English, 1.1% German and 1.1% Spanish as their first language.

There were 7,118 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

Communities

City

• Richland Center (county seat)

Villages

• Boaz
• Cazenovia (partly in Sauk County)
• Lone Rock
• Viola (partly in Vernon County)
• Yuba

Towns

• Akan
• Bloom
• Buena Vista
• Dayton
• Eagle
• Forest
• Henrietta
• Ithaca
• Marshall
• Orion
• Richland
• Richwood
• Rockbridge
• Sylvan
• Westford
• Willow

Census-designated places

• Gotham
• Sextonville

Unincorporated communities

• Ash Ridge
• Aubrey
• Balmoral
• Basswood
• Bear Valley
• Bloom City
• Bosstown
• Buck Creek
• Bunker Hill
• Byrds Creek
• Eagle Corners
• Excelsior
• Five Points
• Germantown
• Gillingham
• Hub City
• Ithaca
• Jimtown
• Keyesville
• Loyd
• Neptune
• Nevels Corners
• Orion
• Port Andrew
• Rockbridge
• Sabin
• Sand Prairie
• Sylvan
• Tavera
• Tunnelville (partial)
• Twin Bluffs
• West Lima
• Westport
• Wild Rose
• Woodstock

Ghost towns/neighborhoods

• Ashford
• Corwin
• Henrietta
• McGrew
• Mill Creek

Politics

United States presidential election results for Richland County, Wisconsin

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,871	54.04%	3,995	44.32%	148	1.64%
2016	4,013	49.73%	3,569	44.23%	487	6.04%
2012	3,573	41.28%	4,969	57.41%	113	1.31%
2008	3,298	39.03%	5,041	59.66%	111	1.31%
2004	4,836	51.34%	4,501	47.78%	83	0.88%
2000	3,994	48.16%	3,837	46.27%	462	5.57%
1996	2,642	36.58%	3,502	48.49%	1,078	14.93%
1992	3,144	36.81%	3,458	40.49%	1,938	22.69%
1988	4,026	52.23%	3,643	47.26%	39	0.51%
1984	4,858	62.66%	2,844	36.68%	51	0.66%
1980	4,601	53.57%	3,413	39.74%	574	6.68%
1976	4,466	54.13%	3,634	44.04%	151	1.83%
1972	5,062	66.14%	2,492	32.56%	100	1.31%
1968	4,141	59.82%	2,288	33.05%	493	7.12%
1964	3,224	42.71%	4,315	57.17%	9	0.12%
1960	5,253	63.84%	2,965	36.03%	11	0.13%
1956	5,062	64.29%	2,783	35.34%	29	0.37%
1952	6,605	74.42%	2,260	25.46%	10	0.11%
1948	3,836	55.55%	2,990	43.30%	80	1.16%
1944	5,088	61.85%	3,109	37.79%	29	0.35%
1940	5,527	60.48%	3,524	38.56%	88	0.96%
1936	4,245	48.87%	4,080	46.97%	361	4.16%
1932	3,256	43.79%	4,027	54.16%	152	2.04%
1928	5,685	70.87%	2,262	28.20%	75	0.93%
1924	2,669	42.11%	898	14.17%	2,771	43.72%
1920	3,952	77.04%	917	17.88%	261	5.09%
1916	2,051	48.56%	1,845	43.68%	328	7.77%
1912	1,623	41.01%	1,493	37.72%	842	21.27%
1908	2,464	54.83%	1,689	37.58%	341	7.59%
1904	2,698	61.51%	1,340	30.55%	348	7.93%
1900	2,593	59.51%	1,524	34.98%	240	5.51%
1896	2,636	54.03%	2,098	43.00%	145	2.97%
1892	2,194	49.99%	1,670	38.05%	525	11.96%

See also

• COVID-19 trends for Richland County
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland County, Wisconsin

Further reading

• History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin. Springfield, Ill.: Union Publishing, 1884.
• Miner, James H. (ed.) History of Richland County, Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.: Western Historical Association, 1906.

External links

• Richland County website
• Richland County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Richland County Health and Demographic Data