Adair County

History

Adair County was formed in 1851 from sections of Pottawattamie County. It was named for John Adair, a general in the War of 1812, and the eighth Governor of Kentucky.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 570 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 569 square miles (1,470 km2) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 80

U.S. Highway 6

Iowa Highway 25

Iowa Highway 92

Adjacent counties

Guthrie County (north)

Madison County (east)

Union County (southeast)

Adams County (southwest)

Cass County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 7,496, resulting in a population density of 12.9430/sq mi (4.9973/km2). The median age was 44.0 years, with 22.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 23.4% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males age 18 and over.

PL data indicates 96.88% of residents reported being of one race; 92.89% were non-Hispanic White, 0.61% were Black or African American, 2.48% were Hispanic or Latino, 0.25% were Native American, 0.31% were Asian, 0.03% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.43% were some other race or more than one race. When combining single races, 95.4% were White, 0.6% were Black or African American, 0.3% were American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% were Asian, <0.1% were Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% were some other race, and 3.1% were two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised approximately 2.5% of the population.

There were 3,217 households in the county, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.8% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 3,585 housing units, of which 3,217 were occupied, and 10.3% were vacant; 75.6% of the occupied units were owner-occupied and 24.4% were renter-occupied, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.1% and a rental vacancy rate of 8.1%.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 7,682 people, 3,292 households, and 2,148 families residing in the county. The population density was 13.5 inhabitants per square mile (5.2/km2). There were 3,698 housing units at an average density of 6.5 per square mile (2.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.4% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.4% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 42.9% were German, 12.6% were Irish, 11.9% were English, 6.7% were Danish, and 6.4% were American.

Of the 3,292 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.8% were non-families, and 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 45.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,202 and the median income for a family was $57,287. Males had a median income of $38,638 versus $31,642 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,497. About 5.7% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

As of 2000, 67.9% of the population (5,597) had a declared religious affiliation, in every case Christian. The leading religious denomination was the United Methodist Church, with 23.6% of the population (1,944 members); second was the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, with 15.4% (1,268 members); third was the Roman Catholic church, with 12% of the population (1,003 members); and fourth was the Evangelical Lutheran church, with 11.8% of the population (978 members).

Education

The county is served by five school districts:

Nodaway Valley Community School District

Orient-Macksburg Community School District

CAM Community School District

Adair–Casey Community School District

West Central Valley Community School District

The schools in the Nodaway Valley Community School District are:

Nodaway Valley Elementary School

Nodaway Valley Middle School

Nodaway Valley High School

The schools in the Orient-Macksburg Community School District are:

Orient-Macksburg Elementary School

Orient-Macksburg Middle School and High School

The schools in the CAM Community School District are:

CAM North Elementary School

CAM South Elementary School

CAM Middle School

CAM High School

CAM Iowa Connections Academy Elementary

CAM Iowa Connections Academy Middle School

Communities

Cities

Adair

Bridgewater

Casey

Fontanelle

Greenfield

Orient

Stuart

Unincorporated communities

Arbor Hill

Berea

Canby

Fisk

Hebron

Howe

Leith City

Nanito

Prussia

Zion

Townships

Adair County is divided into sixteen townships:

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Adair County.

† county seat

Politics

The county was part of Iowa's 5th congressional district, which had a score of R+9 (strongly Republican) in the Cook Partisan Voting Index. It is now part of the 3rd district.

Adair County is located within Iowa's 23rd House of Representatives district and Iowa Senate District 12.