Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, the county had a population of 19,491. The
population density was . There were 12,138 housing units at an average density of . The median age was 49.5 years, with 19.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 25.2% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.6 males age 18 and over. There were 8,641 households in the county, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.7% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Of the 12,138 housing units, 28.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.9% were owner-occupied and 25.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.1%.
2000 census As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,740 people, 8,452 households, and 5,814 families residing in the county. The
population density was . There were 11,187 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.93%
White, 0.15%
Black or
African American, 0.54%
Native American, 0.27%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.2% from
other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 49.4% were of
German, 8.6%
Polish, 6.2%
Irish and 5.8%
American ancestry. There were 8,452 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were
married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. In 2017, there were 196 births, giving a general fertility rate of 68.3 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 20th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. ==Transportation==