Jones County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 20,646. The county seat is Anamosa. The county was founded in 1837 and named after George Wallace Jones, a United States senator and member of Congress. Jones County is included in the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 sqmi, of which 576 sqmi is land and 1.4 sqmi (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Airport

Monticello Regional Airport (MXO) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

Parks

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 20,646 in the county, with a population density of. 96.76% of the population reported being of one race. 90.80% were non-Hispanic White, 2.14% were Black, 2.41% were Hispanic, 0.26% were Native American, 0.29% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.10% were some other race or more than one race. There were 8,871 housing units, of which 8,113 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,638 in the county, with a population density of. There were 8,911 housing units, of which 8,151 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,221 people, 7,560 households, and 5,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 PD/sqmi. There were 8,126 housing units at an average density of 14 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.68% White, 1.79% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,560 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,449, and the median income for a family was $44,269. Males had a median income of $31,039 versus $22,075 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,816. About 6.20% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.80% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Jones County. † county seat

Politics

After voting for the Democratic nominee in its first two elections in 1848 and 1852 prior to the founding of the Republican Party, Jones County thereafter leaned Republican until 1988. It voted Democrat only four times between 1856 and 1984, in 1912 for Woodrow Wilson when he won with a plurality of the vote after former Republican Theodore Roosevelt ran as the Progressive candidate, leading to a fracture in the national Republican Party, then backing Franklin D. Roosevelt in his two landslide victories of 1932 and 1936, and then supporting Lyndon B. Johnson during his 1964 landslide. From 1988 to 2012, Jones County favored the Democratic nominee in each election. In 2016, Donald Trump flipped the county back to the Republican column, capturing over 56% of the county's vote, the best Republican performance in the county since the 1972 landslide victory of Richard Nixon. Trump increased his vote share to almost 60% in 2020 and increased his margin of victory to over 21%, the first election in the county decided by a margin of over 20% since 1964.