Douglas County is a county in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,295 Its county seat is Superior. Douglas County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Douglas County, named after Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was established on February 8, 1854, from the larger La Pointe County, Wisconsin, and the City of Superior was immediately selected as the county seat. In Wisconsin's 1952 U.S. Senate primary, Douglas County was one of two counties (out of 71 in the state at the time) that Sen. Joe McCarthy did not carry.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1480 sqmi, of which 1304 sqmi is land and 176 sqmi (12%) is water. Part of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is in Douglas County.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Railroads

Buses

Airports

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 44,295. The population density was 34.0 /mi2. There were 22,906 housing units at an average density of 17.6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% White, 1.8% Native American, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 5.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 44,159 people living in the county. 93.2% were White, 2.0% Native American, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 2.7% of two or more races. 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 20.7% were of German, 11.2% Norwegian, 9.7% Swedish, 7.8% Irish, 6.4% Finnish and 6.1% Polish ancestry.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 43,287 people, 17,808 households, and 11,272 families living in the county. The population density was 33 /mi2. There were 20,356 housing units at an average density of 16 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 95.35% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 1.82% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.8% had German, 13.5% Norwegian, 11.5% Swedish, 8.5% Irish, 8.2% Finnish, 6.8% Polish and 5.1% United States or American ancestry. 96.7% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language. There were 17,808 households, out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.10% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.70% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males. In 2017, there were 413 births, giving a general fertility rate of 50.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the seventh lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Douglas County residence in 2017.

Communities

City

Villages

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Politics

Douglas County has one of the longest Democratic voting streaks in the nation in presidential elections; the last Republican presidential candidate to win Douglas County was Herbert Hoover in 1928. But in 2024, Donald Trump received the highest percentage of Douglas County's vote for a Republican since the county's Democratic streak began, signaling a new competitiveness in the county. In every presidential election between 1984 and 2000, the county was always the second-most Democratic in the state (behind only Native American-dominated Menominee County), before being surpassed by Dane County in 2004, and several others since 2008. Douglas County also regularly supports Democratic candidates at the state level.