Bear Lake County, Idaho

Bear Lake County is a located in the  of. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 ( estimate: 6,176). The is. is the county's largest city.

The county is named after, a 20-mile-long lake half in Idaho, and half in Utah.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,718 (1,049 ). 2,516 km² (971 sq mi) of it is land and 202 km² (78 sq mi) of it (7.44%) is water. The county is centered around and includes the surrounding mountain ranges. The valley is high in the mountains, with its lowest elevation at about 5900 feet above sea level. The highest point in the county is Meade Peak at 9,957 feet above sea level.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west

History
The first settlement in the county, and in was Paris, which was settled by  pioneers on September 26, 1863. 30 families comprised the original settlement. In the spring of 1864, was settled on the other side of the valley on the. The railroad was extended through Montpelier in 1892. Bear Lake County was established in 1893 and was named after a lake in the county.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 6,411 people, 2,259 households, and 1,710 families residing in the county. The was 3/km² (7/sq mi). There were 3,268 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (3/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.66%, 0.09% or , 0.53% , 0.08% , 0.05% , 1.08% from , and 0.51% from two or more races. 2.40% of the population were or  of any race. 28.6% were of, 16.1% , 9.4% , 7.1% , 6.2% and 5.5%  ancestry according to.

There were 2,259 households out of which 38.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.90% were living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the county the population was spread out with 33.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 22.40% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,162, and the median income for a family was $38,351. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $17,829 for females. The for the county was $13,592. About 7.10% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.