Story County, Iowa

Story County is a in the  of. It is part of the ' ' which encompasses all of Story County, Iowa and which, when combined with the ' ' comprises the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa '. As of 2000, the population of the county was 79,981. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,486 (574 ). 1,484 km² (573 sq mi) of it is land and 2 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.15%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-35.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 30.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 65.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 69.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Iowa 210.svg|20px]]

Adjacent counties

 * (northwest)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)

History
The land that today is known as Story County was originally prairie with the exception of some groves along the larger streams in the area. In 1846 the boundaries of Story County were established. The County has an area of 576 square miles and is square in shape.

The county was named after, a preeminent United States Supreme Court Justice, in 1853.

The first settlers in Story County came mainly from, and. Later, many, and  came directly from overseas and inhabited the area. The first large population influx occurred during the 1850s. Story County was not mentioned in the Federal in 1850, but figures from the State of  put the population at 214 in 1852. By 1860 the population had increased to 4,501.

Three commissioners appointed by the Iowa legislature selected the location of county seat on June, 27 1853. The location was Nevada, Iowa. Nevada (pronounced Nah-VEH-Dah) was named after the mountain range in western California. Like many Midwestern towns, cities and counties, many prominent locations from the newly explored West and of the late 1840s inspired the naming of towns and counties in Iowa during this period.

Railroad construction did more to develop Story County, as it did for the entire American West, than anything else. The first railroad came to the county in 1864. Railroads were such a decisive factor in determining the location of towns that several communities in Story County moved to be closer to the rail line. Some flourishing little towns that were bypassed by the railroad soon disappeared.

Although Nevada was long the population center of the county, was the most widely known of the towns because of the busy railroad depot where travelers changed trains for all points north, south, east and west.

Story County consists of 16 townships and 15 incorporated cities, and 4 unincorporated towns. The population of 79,981 in the 2000 census consisted of 71,114 in urban areas and 8867 in rural areas.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 79,981 people, 29,383 households, and 17,042 families residing in the county. The was 54/km² (140/sq mi). There were 30,630 housing units at an average density of 21/km² (54/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.14%, 1.83% or , 0.16% , 5.10% , 0.03% , 0.60% from , and 1.14% from two or more races. 1.55% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 29,383 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.60% were living together, 5.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.00% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 19.10% under the age of 18, 28.30% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 17.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 104.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,442, and the median income for a family was $55,472. Males had a median income of $36,756 versus $26,941 for females. The for the county was $19,949. About 5.50% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the, including 6.80% of those under age 18 and 4.30% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns