Kootenai County, Idaho

Kootenai County
	Kootenai County, Idaho
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Idaho
	; Idaho's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 22, 1864
Named for	Kootenai tribe
Seat	Coeur d'Alene
Largest city	Coeur d'Alene
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 1,315.69 sq mi (3,408 km²); 1,245.12 sq mi (3,225 km²); 70.57 sq mi (183 km²), 5.36%
PopulationEst.; - (2011); - Density	; 141,132; 111/sq mi (45/km²)
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	kcgov.us

Kootenai County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. The county was established in 1864, named after Kootenai tribe. The entire county comprises the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 138,494 at the 2010 census.^[1] The county seat and largest city is Coeur d'Alene.^[2]

Directly west across the state border is the Spokane, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, comprising Spokane County, Washington; the combined population of the two counties was estimated at 614,893 in 2011.^[3]

Geography [edit]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,315.69 square miles (3,407.6 km²), of which 1,245.12 square miles (3,224.8 km²) (or 94.64%) is land and 70.57 square miles (182.8 km²) (or 5.36%) is water.^[4] The vast majority of the water area is the county's primary attraction, Lake Coeur d'Alene. Kootenai County is part of the Inland Empire in the Idaho Panhandle.

Adjacent counties [edit]

National protected areas [edit]

Coeur d'Alene National Forest (part)
Kaniksu National Forest (part)

Lake Coeur d'Alene in Kootenai County

Highways [edit]

History [edit]

Kootenai County was formed on December 22, 1864, from the northern section of Nez Perce County. It was named after the Kootenai, because it lies in the traditional area of settlement of the tribe.^[5]

Once comprising most of the western Panhandle, the county's present boundaries were established in 1915, following the formation of Benewah County to the south. Bonner County to the north had been formed in 1907 from Kootenai County; Bonner County was also divided in 1915 with the formation of Boundary County.

Directly east of Kootenai County is Shoshone County and the Silver Valley, which has had a history of disputes between miners and mine owners.

Demographics [edit]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	518	—
1890	4,108	693.1%
1900	10,216	148.7%
1910	22,747	122.7%
1920	17,878	−21.4%
1930	19,469	8.9%
1940	22,283	14.5%
1950	24,947	12.0%
1960	29,556	18.5%
1970	35,332	19.5%
1980	59,770	69.2%
1990	69,795	16.8%
2000	108,685	55.7%
2010	138,494	27.4%
Est. 2011	141,132	1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 2011 estimate

As of the census of 2000, there were 108,685 people, 41,308 households, and 29,659 families residing in the county. The population density was 87 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 46,607 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.84% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 1.23% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. 2.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.2% were of German, 11.9% English, 10.9% Irish, 9.4% American and 6.1% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.6% spoke English and 1.7% Spanish as their first language.

There were 41,308 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,754, and the median income for a family was $42,905. Males had a median income of $33,661 versus $22,113 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,430. About 7.70% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.