Bremer County
County
Bremer County Court House
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°46′27″N 92°19′01″W / 42.774166666667°N 92.316944444444°W / 42.774166666667; -92.316944444444
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1851; 173 years ago (1851)
Named for	Fredrika Bremer
Seat	Waverly
Largest city	Waverly
Area
• Total	439 sq mi (1,140 km2)
• Land	435 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	3.9 sq mi (10 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	24,988
• Density	57/sq mi (22/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.bremercounty.iowa.gov

Bremer County(/ˈbriːmər/^[1]) is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 24,988.^[2] Its county seat is Waverly.^[3] The county was named for Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish feminist writer.^[4]

Bremer County is included in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 439 square miles (1,140 km²), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km²) (0.9%) is water.^[6] It is intersected by the Cedar and Wapsipinicon rivers.^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 63
• U.S. Highway 218
• Iowa Highway 3
• Iowa Highway 27
• Iowa Highway 93
• Iowa Highway 188

Adjacent counties

• Chickasaw County (north)
• Fayette County (east)
• Floyd County (northwest)
• Black Hawk County (south)
• Buchanan County (southeast)
• Butler County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 24,988 in the county, with a population density of 56.7708/sq mi (21.9193/km²). 97.01% of the population reported being of one race. 92.39% were non-Hispanic White, 0.96% were Black, 2.04% were Hispanic, 0.18% were Native American, 0.78% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.63% were some other race or more than one race. There were 10,484 housing units of which 9,646 were occupied.^[2]

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Bremer County.^[2] † county seat

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 24,276 in the county, with a population density of 55.42/sq mi (21.400/km²). There were 9,915 housing units, of which 9,385 were occupied.^[13]

2000 census

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 23,325 people, 8,860 households, and 6,326 families residing in the county. The population density was 53 inhabitants per square mile (20/km²). There were 9,337 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.22% White, 0.48% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,860 households, out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.50% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% 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, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 23.90% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,826, and the median income for a family was $50,299. Males had a median income of $34,212 versus $22,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,199. About 2.90% of families and 5.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.20% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Wartburg College is located in Waverly.

Waverly-Shell Rock School District

• Waverly-Shell Rock High school
• Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School
• Margaretta Carey Elementary School
• Shell Rock Elementary
• WSR Southeast Elementary
• WSR West Cedar Elementary
• WSR Lied Campus
• St. Paul's Lutheran School

Denver School District

• High school
• Middle school
• Elementary School
• Discoveries Preschool

Janesville Consolidated School District

Sumner School District

• S-F High School
• S-F Middle School
• Fredericksburg Elementary
• Durant Elementary
• Fredericksburg Preschool
• Sumner Preschool

Tripoli School District

Attractions

The Bremer County Fair is held at the county fairgrounds in Waverly every year in early August. It celebrated its 135th year in August 2010. Attractions include livestock and craft exhibitions, truck and tractor pulls, commercial and local exhibits, and various contests, performances, and concerts.

The Bremer County Court House, which opened in 1937, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[15]

The Bremer County Historical Society and Museum was originally built in 1862 as a stagecoach stop and hotel. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

• Buck Creek
• Klinger
• Siegel
• Horton
• Waverly Junction
• Bremer

Government

Townships

Bremer County is divided into fourteen townships:

Politics

Between 1964 and 2016, Bremer County voted for the nationwide winner in each election except for 1976. Elections were particularly close in the county from 1988 to 2012. In 2016, Donald Trump became the first candidate of any party to win the county by more than 10% since the 1984 landslide reelection of Ronald Reagan, a feat he repeated in 2020 with an increased vote share and margin of victory as well.