Barnstable County, Massachusetts

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Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Seal of Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Seal
Map of Massachusetts highlighting Barnstable County
Location in the state of Massachusetts
Map of the U.S. highlighting Massachusetts
Massachusetts's location in the U.S.
Founded 1685
Seat Barnstable
Largest city Barnstable
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
1,305.62 sq mi (3,382 km²)
395.51 sq mi (1,024 km²)
910.10 sq mi (2,357 km²), 69.71%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density
216,902
545/sq mi (210.8/km²)
Website www.barnstablecounty.org

Barnstable County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, consisting of Cape Cod and associated islands. (Some adjacent islands are in Dukes County and Nantucket County.) As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,902. Its county seat is Barnstable.[1]

Barnstable County was formed as part of the Plymouth Colony on 2 June 1685, including the towns of Falmouth, Sandwich and others lying to the east and north on Cape Cod. Plymouth Colony was merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691.

Contents

[edit] Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,305.62 square miles (3,381.5 km2), of which 395.51 square miles (1,024.4 km2) (or 30.29%) is land and 910.10 square miles (2,357.1 km2) (or 69.71%) is water.[2] It has 550 miles (890 km) of shoreline (778 miles if you include inland lakes). Barnstable County includes and consists mostly of Cape Cod.

Barnstable County borders Plymouth County to the northwest; off Barnstable County's southern shore are Dukes County and Nantucket.

The highest elevation in the county is 306 feet (93 m) on the summit of Pine Hill, located on the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne. The lowest point is sea level.

[edit] National protected areas

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 17,342
—
1800 19,293 11.3%
1810 22,211 15.1%
1820 24,026 8.2%
1830 28,514 18.7%
1840 32,548 14.1%
1850 35,276 8.4%
1860 35,990 2.0%
1870 32,774 −8.9%
1880 31,897 −2.7%
1890 29,172 −8.5%
1900 27,826 −4.6%
1910 27,542 −1.0%
1920 26,670 −3.2%
1930 32,305 21.1%
1940 37,295 15.4%
1950 46,805 25.5%
1960 70,286 50.2%
1970 96,656 37.5%
1980 147,925 53.0%
1990 186,605 26.1%
2000 222,230 19.1%
2010 216,902 −2.4%
[3][4][5]

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 222,230 people, 94,822 households, and 61,065 families residing in the county. The population density was 562 people per square mile (217/km²). There were 147,083 housing units at an average density of 372 per square mile (144/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.23% White, 1.79% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.11% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.0% were of Irish, 15.6% English, 9.4% Italian, 5.9% German and 5.0% "American" ancestry according to Census 2000. 3.6% spoke English, 1.7% Portuguese, 1.4% Spanish and 1.0% French as their first language.

There were 94,822 households out of which 24.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.40% under the age of 18, 5.20% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 26.20% from 45 to 64, and 23.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 89.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,933, and the median income for a family was $54,728. Males had a median income of $41,033 versus $30,079 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,318. About 4.60% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 13, 2010[7]
Party Number of Voters Percentage
  Democratic 44,070 26.48%
  Republican 27,687 16.63%
  Unaffiliated 93,815 56.36%
  Minor Parties 881 0.53%
Total 166,453 100%

[edit] Politics

Presidential election results[8]
Year Democrat Republican
2008 56.1% 74,264 42.1% 55,694
2004 54.6% 72,156 44.3% 58,527
2000 51.5% 62,363 41.0% 49,686

[edit] Cities, towns, and villages*

Towns of Barnstable County
historical map of 1890
Age breakdown of residents in 2000

* Villages are census divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in. The City of Barnstable has five fire districts that cover the seven villages - each village has its own fire department except that Centerville, Osterville and Marstons Mills have combined their efforts into the COMM Fire Department.

[edit] Government services

The planning agency of Barnstable County is the Cape Cod Commission.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ma190090.txt
  4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
  5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
  6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  7. ^ "2010 State Primary Party Enrollment Statistics" (PDF). Massachusetts Elections Division. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ele10/enrollment_count_regdt_10132010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
  8. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 

[edit] External links

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Municipalities and communities of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
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Note: Municipalities not listed above have a town meeting form of government. Municipalities listed above in italics have a city form of government, but have retained the name prefix "Town of " as part of their official names.
Plymouth County Cape Cod Bay Gulf of Maine
Cape Cod Canal Atlantic Ocean
   Cape Cod    
Buzzards Bay Nantucket Sound Atlantic Ocean

Coordinates: 41°43′N 70°15′W / 41.72°N 70.25°W / 41.72; -70.25

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