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Wright County
Wright County
County
	Wright County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
	Iowa's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 42°43′59″N 93°44′08″W / 42.7331°N 93.7356°W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	January 15, 1851
Named for	Silas Wright
Seat	Clarion
Largest city	Eagle Grove
Area
• Total	582 sq mi (1,510 km2)
• Land	580 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	1.8 sq mi (5 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	12,943
• Density	22/sq mi (8.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	wrightcounty.iowa.gov

Wright County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,943.^[1] The county seat is Clarion.^[2] The county organization became effective in January 1851, and is believed to be named either after Silas Wright, a governor of New York, or Joseph Albert Wright, a governor of Indiana.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 582 square miles (1,510 km²), of which 580 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (0.3%) is covered by water.^[4] The terrain is generally undulating. The county is intersected by the Boone and Iowa Rivers^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Hancock County - north
Cerro Gordo County - northeast
Franklin County - east
Hardin County - southeast
Hamilton County - south
Webster County - southwest
Humboldt County - west
Kossuth County - northwest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	2,392		—
1880	5,062		111.6%
1890	12,057		138.2%
1900	18,227		51.2%
1910	17,951		−1.5%
1920	20,348		13.4%
1930	20,216		−0.6%
1940	20,038		−0.9%
1950	19,652		−1.9%
1960	19,447		−1.0%
1970	17,294		−11.1%
1980	16,319		−5.6%
1990	14,269		−12.6%
2000	14,334		0.5%
2010	13,229		−7.7%
2020	12,943		−2.2%
2023 (est.)	12,656	^[6]	−2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2018^[11]

Population of Wright County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 12,943 in the county, with a population density of 22.2002/sq mi (8.5715/km²). 93.48% of the population reported being of one race. There were 6,260 housing units, of which 5,404 were occupied.^[1]

Wright County Racial Composition^[12]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	10,107	78.1%
Black or African American (NH)	73	0.6%
Native American (NH)	15	0.12%
Asian (NH)	67	0.52%
Pacific Islander (NH)	8	0.06%
Other/Mixed (NH)	279	2.2%
Hispanic or Latino	2,394	18.5%

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 13,229 in the county, with a population density of 22.7803/sq mi (8.7955/km²). There were 6,529 housing units, of which 5,625 were occupied.^[13]

2000 census

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 14,334 people, 5,940 households, and 3,938 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (9.7 people/km²). There were 6,559 housing units at an average density of 11 units per square mile (4.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.93% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 2.90% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 4.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,940 households, out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,197, and the median income for a family was $44,043. Males had a median income of $29,398 versus $21,222 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,247. About 4.20% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.70% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary

School districts include:^[15]

Former school districts:^[16]

Clarion-Goldfield Community School District, merged into Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on July 1, 2014.^[17]
Corwith-Wesley Community School District, dissolved on July 1, 2015.^[17]
Dows Community School District merged into Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on July 1, 2014.^[17]
Northeast Hamilton Community School District merged into Webster City CSD on July 1, 2019.^[17]
Sheffield Chapin Meservey Thornton Community School District (SCMT), merged into West Fork CSD on July 1, 2011.^[17]

These three school districts in Wright County have or had high schools in the county: Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Community School District K-12 Enrollment 954 Eagle Grove Community School District K-12 Enrollment 836 Belmond-Klemme Community School District K-12 Enrollment 793

Tertiary

Iowa State University maintains an extension office in Clarion. Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, and Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls are all within driving distance of Wright County. Iowa Central Community College began offering ICN Polycom classes in Clarion and Eagle Grove in 2015.

Politics

Wright County has, like many counties in Iowa, been a swing county for the majority of its history. The county has voted for the winning candidate in 21 out of the 25 presidential elections in the 20th Century. However, in 2000, the county was won by Republican George W. Bush and has voted for the party in all presidential elections since.

United States presidential election results for Wright County, Iowa^[18]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	3,853	67.32%	1,770	30.93%	100	1.75%
2020	4,136	66.13%	1,996	31.92%	122	1.95%
2016	3,800	63.06%	1,896	31.46%	330	5.48%
2012	3,349	53.35%	2,836	45.17%	93	1.48%
2008	3,198	50.01%	3,102	48.51%	95	1.49%
2004	3,631	54.99%	2,930	44.37%	42	0.64%
2000	3,384	53.41%	2,796	44.13%	156	2.46%
1996	2,473	41.50%	2,912	48.87%	574	9.63%
1992	2,708	40.63%	2,776	41.65%	1,181	17.72%
1988	2,658	43.90%	3,353	55.38%	43	0.71%
1984	3,675	54.81%	2,980	44.44%	50	0.75%
1980	3,936	55.07%	2,645	37.01%	566	7.92%
1976	3,544	48.67%	3,637	49.95%	101	1.39%
1972	4,278	59.73%	2,780	38.82%	104	1.45%
1968	4,299	56.95%	2,969	39.33%	281	3.72%
1964	2,831	36.13%	4,998	63.78%	7	0.09%
1960	5,386	56.34%	4,159	43.50%	15	0.16%
1956	5,512	58.70%	3,865	41.16%	13	0.14%
1952	6,566	67.12%	3,186	32.57%	31	0.32%
1948	3,810	48.85%	3,866	49.56%	124	1.59%
1944	3,916	47.86%	4,232	51.72%	35	0.43%
1940	4,443	47.52%	4,871	52.10%	36	0.39%
1936	3,311	38.01%	5,177	59.44%	222	2.55%
1932	3,262	39.14%	4,922	59.06%	150	1.80%
1928	5,020	65.79%	2,547	33.38%	63	0.83%
1924	4,323	57.40%	501	6.65%	2,707	35.94%
1920	5,739	81.04%	1,205	17.01%	138	1.95%
1916	2,599	68.22%	1,135	29.79%	76	1.99%
1912	805	22.64%	765	21.52%	1,985	55.84%
1908	2,498	72.34%	866	25.08%	89	2.58%
1904	2,795	77.38%	695	19.24%	122	3.38%
1900	2,990	75.07%	891	22.37%	102	2.56%
1896	2,992	71.39%	1,138	27.15%	61	1.46%

Media

Several small newspapers are published in Wright County, including the Wright County Monitor, serving Clarion and Dows, the Eagle Grove Eagle, and the Belmond Independent.

Wright County Fair

The first Wright County Fair was held in Clarion. The old fairgrounds were located where Clarion's USA Healthcare Center stands today. the Clarion Fair ran until 1924; it was held in Goldfield in 1925, and moved to its present location in Eagle Grove in 1926; it was later retitled as the Wright County District Junior Fair. Entries are open to children in Hamilton, Humboldt, Webster, Hardin, Franklin, and Wright Counties.^[19]

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Holmes, Iowa

Townships

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	Eagle Grove	City	3,601
2	† Clarion	City	2,810
3	Belmond	City	2,463
4	Goldfield	City	634
5	Dows (partially in Franklin County)	City	521
6	Woolstock	City	144
7	Rowan	City	123
8	Galt	City	26