Owyhee County, Idaho

Owyhee County is a located in the  of. In area it is the next to largest county in Idaho, second only to. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 10,644 ( estimate: 11,073). The is. is the county's largest city.

Previous county seats were (-) and  (-).

Owyhee County is part of the.

History
On, , Owyhee County became the first county organized by the Idaho Territorial Legislature. and Counties predate Owyhee County as parts of, but they were not recognized by  until February.

Owyhee County originally included present-day, and  Counties. It assumed its present boundaries in. "Owyhee" is a corruption of, a reference to Hawaiian fur trappers who explored the area in and.

Owyhee County's history is inextricably linked to the mining boom that dominated Idaho in the second half of the 19th Century. Silver City and Ruby City are among the state's most noteworthy s from the period. At its height in the 1880s Owyhee County was among the most populated places in Idaho. Today it is among the least populated.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 19,934 (7,697 ). 19,886 km² (7,678 sq mi) of it is land and 48 km² (19 sq mi) of it (0.24%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - (north 1)
 * - (north 2)
 * - (north 3)
 * - (east)
 * - (south)
 * - (southwest)
 * - (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 10,644 people, 3,710 households, and 2,756 families residing in the county. The was 1/km² (1/sq mi). There were 4,452 housing units at an average density of 0/km² (1/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 76.87%, 0.15% or , 3.21% , 0.47% , 0.08% , 16.50% from , and 2.72% from two or more races. 23.10% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 3,710 households out of which 37.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the county the population was spread out with 31.90% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 109.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,339, and the median income for a family was $32,856. Males had a median income of $25,146 versus $20,718 for females. The for the county was $13,405. About 14.20% of families and 16.90% of the population were below the, including 20.80% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.