2020 census As of the
2020 census, the county had a population of 20,070, a population density of , and 8,916 housing units, of which 8.4% were vacant and 8,170 were occupied. The median age was 42.6 years, 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18, and 21.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.4 males. 39.8% of residents lived in urban areas while 60.2% lived in rural areas.
2010 census As of the
2010 census recorded a population of 21,056 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,721 housing units, of which 7,997 were occupied.
2000 census As of the
2000 census, there were 21,310 people, 7,734 households, and 5,189 families residing in the county. The
population density was . There were 8,208 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.85%
White, 0.51%
Black or
African American, 0.08%
Native American, 0.82%
Asian, 0.24% from
other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 38.3% were of
German, 31.7%
Norwegian, 5.5%
Irish and 5.1%
Czech ancestry. There were 7,734 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were
married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 16.7% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,908, and the median income for a family was $45,966. Males had a median income of $29,278 versus $21,240 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $17,047. About 5.1% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over. ==Communities==