Waushara County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,496. Its county seat is Wautoma. Waushara County is located in central Wisconsin, about north of Madison.
History
Waushara County was established by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature on February 15, 1851. It originally consisted of a single organized Town of Waushara. In 1852 the county achieved full organization. The county seat was first located at Sacramento and was relocated to Wautoma in 1854 after a bitter fight between proponents of the two places. The name is of Winnebago origin and is believed to mean "good land".
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,154 people, 9,336 households, and 6,581 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile. There were 13,667 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96.80% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 3.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.5% were of German, 9.1% Polish, 5.9% Irish, 5.7% American and 5.6% English ancestry. 94.5% spoke English, 3.4% Spanish and 1.4% German as their first language. There were 9,336 households out of which 27.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couplesliving together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.50% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 24.90% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.80 males. In 2017, there were 222 births, giving a general fertility rate of 67.3 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 22nd highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 19 of the births occurred at home. Additionally, there were 10 reported induced abortions performed on women of Waushara County residence in 2017.
