Dane County, Wisconsin

Dane County
	Dane County, Wisconsin
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Wisconsin
	; Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 7, 1836
Seat	Madison
Largest city	Madison
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 1,238 sq mi (3,206 km²); 1,202 sq mi (3,113 km²); 36 sq mi (93 km²), 2.94%
PopulationEst.; - (2012); - Density	; 503,523; 355/sq mi (137/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.dane.wi.us

Dane County is a county in the State of Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. The second most populous county in Wisconsin, Dane County had a population of 488,073 at the 2010 census.^[1] It is part of the U.S. Census Bureau's Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Iowa and Columbia counties. Dane County has more than 60 cities, towns, and villages.

History[edit]

Dane County was formed in 1836 as a territorial county. It was named after Nathan Dane, a Massachusetts delegate to the Congress of the Confederation who helped carve Wisconsin out of the Northwest Territory.^[2]

Geography[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,238 square miles (3,206.4 km²), of which 1,202 square miles (3,113.2 km²) is land and 36 square miles (93.2 km²) (2.94%) is water.

Demographics[edit]

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Dane County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	314	—
1850	16,639	5,199.0%
1860	43,922	164.0%
1870	53,096	20.9%
1880	53,233	0.3%
1890	59,578	11.9%
1900	69,435	16.5%
1910	77,435	11.5%
1920	89,432	15.5%
1930	112,737	26.1%
1940	130,660	15.9%
1950	169,357	29.6%
1960	222,095	31.1%
1970	290,272	30.7%
1980	323,545	11.5%
1990	367,085	13.5%
2000	426,526	16.2%
2010	488,073	14.4%
Est. 2012	503,523	3.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[3] 2012 Estimate^[4]

As of the census of 2000, there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 355 people per square mile (137/km²). There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile (58/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.96% White, 4.00% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 3.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 3.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.4% were of German, 11.5% Norwegian, 8.9% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry according to the 2000 census.

There were 173,484 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.10% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.90% were non-families. 29.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.60% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 32.50% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

Government[edit]

Dane County is governed by a county executive and a County Board of Supervisors. The county executive is elected in a countywide vote. The County Executive is Joe Parisi. The Board of Supervisors consists of 37 members, each elected from single member districts. As the policy-making body of the county government, the Board of Supervisors enacts county ordinances, levies taxes, and appropriates money for services.