Rock County, Wisconsin

County in Wisconsin, United States

U.S. county in Wisconsin

Rock County

U.S. county

Rock County Courthouse

Rock County Courthouse

Official seal of Rock County

Seal

Map of Wisconsin highlighting Rock County

Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin

Wisconsin's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State|  Wisconsin
Founded| 1839
Named for| Rock River
Seat| Janesville
Largest city| Janesville
Area

• Total| 726 sq mi (1,880 km2)
• Land| 718 sq mi (1,860 km2)
• Water| 8.0 sq mi (21 km2)  1.1%%
Population

(2020)[1]

• Total| 163,687
• Density| 230/sq mi (87/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts| 1st, 2nd
Website| www.co.rock.wi.us

Rock County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 163,687.[1] Its county seat is Janesville.[2] Rock County comprises the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI Combined Statistical Area.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 3 Transportation
* 3.1 Major highways
* 3.2 Railroads
* 3.3 Buses
* 3.4 Airport
* 4 Adjacent counties
* 5 Demographics
* 6 Communities
* 6.1 Cities
* 6.2 Villages
* 6.3 Towns
* 6.4 Census-designated place
* 6.5 Unincorporated communities
* 6.6 Ghost towns/neighborhoods
* 7 Politics
* 8 Education
* 9 Tree cities
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 Further reading
* 13 External links

## History

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Rock County was created in 1836 as a territorial county on December 7, 1836, from Milwaukee County and fully organized February 19, 1839.[3] The county is named for the Rock River, which bisects the county from north to south.[4]

## Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,880 km2), of which 718 square miles (1,860 km2) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km2) (1.1%) is water.[5]

Cook Memorial Arboretum, a natural area with birding and nature trails, is located northwest of Janesville. It is owned by the Janesville School District.[6]

## Transportation

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### Major highways

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* Interstate 39
* Interstate 43
* Interstate 90
* File:US 12.svg U.S. Highway 12
* U.S. Highway 14
* U.S. Highway 51
* Highway 11
* Highway 26
* Highway 59
* Highway 67
* Highway 81
* Highway 89
* Highway 104
* File:WIS 140.svg Highway 140
* File:WIS 213.svg Highway 213

### Railroads

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* Canadian Pacific
* Union Pacific
* Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

### Buses

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* Beloit Transit
* Janesville Transit System
* List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

### Airport

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Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (KJVL) serves Rock County and the surrounding communities.

## Adjacent counties

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* Green County – west
* Dane County – north
* Jefferson County – northeast
* Walworth County – east
* Boone County, Illinois – south
* Winnebago County, Illinois – south

## Demographics

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Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1840| 1,701| | —
1850| 20,750| | 1,119.9%
1860| 36,690| | 76.8%
1870| 39,030| | 6.4%
1880| 38,823| | −0.5%
1890| 43,220| | 11.3%
1900| 51,203| | 18.5%
1910| 55,538| | 8.5%
1920| 66,150| | 19.1%
1930| 74,206| | 12.2%
1940| 80,173| | 8.0%
1950| 92,778| | 15.7%
1960| 113,913| | 22.8%
1970| 131,970| | 15.9%
1980| 139,420| | 5.6%
1990| 139,510| | 0.1%
2000| 152,307| | 9.2%
2010| 160,331| | 5.3%
2020| 163,687| | 2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9]
1990–2000[10] 2010[11] 2020[1]

As of the census of 2020,[1] the population was 163,687. The population density was 227.9 inhabitants per square mile (88.0/km2). There were 70,068 housing units at an average density of 97.6 per square mile (37.7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.3% White, 5.1% Black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 4.6% from other races, and 7.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 9.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

File:USA Rock County, Wisconsin age pyramid.svg2000 Census Age Pyramid for Rock County

As of the census[12] of 2010, there were 160,331 people residing in the county.

As of the census[12] of 2000, were 152,307 people, 58,617 households, and 40,387 families residing in the county. The population density was 211 people per square mile (82/km2). there were 62,187 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile (33/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.01% white, 4.63% black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. 3.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.8% were of German, 13.0% Norwegian, 10.1% Irish, 7.5% English and 5.5% American ancestry.

There were 58,617 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.50% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.

## Communities

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### Cities

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* Beloit
* Brodhead (mostly in Green County)
* Edgerton (partly in Dane County)
* Evansville
* Janesville
* Milton

### Villages

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* Clinton
* Orfordville
* Footville

### Towns

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* Avon
* Beloit
* Bradford
* Center
* Clinton
* Edgerton
* Fulton
* Harmony
* Janesville
* Johnstown
* La Prairie
* Lima
* Magnolia
* Milton
* Newark
* Plymouth
* Porter
* Rock
* Spring Valley
* Turtle
* Union

### Census-designated place

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* Hanover

### Unincorporated communities

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* Afton
* Anderson
* Avon
* Avalon
* Belcrest
* Bergen
* Cainville
* Center
* Charlie Bluff
* Cooksville
* Coopers Shores
* Crestview
* Emerald Grove
* Fairfield (partial)
* Foxhollow
* Fulton
* Indianford
* Johnstown
* Johnstown Center
* Koshkonong (partial)
* Leyden
* Lima Center
* Magnolia
* Maple Beach
* Newark
* Newville
* Porters
* Shopiere
* Stebbinsville
* Tiffany
* Union
* Victory Heights

### Ghost towns/neighborhoods

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* Fellows
* Jefferson Prairie Settlement

## Politics

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Hillary Clinton carried the county in 2016, but it was the smallest margin of victory since Michael Dukakis in 1988.

United States presidential election results for Rock County, Wisconsin[13] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 37,138  | 43.51%  | 46,658  | 54.66% | 1,564  | 1.83%
2016 | 31,493  | 41.40%  | 39,339  | 51.71% | 5,242  | 6.89%
2012 | 30,517  | 37.82%  | 49,219  | 61.00% | 954  | 1.18%
2008 | 27,364  | 34.56%  | 50,529  | 63.82% | 1,276  | 1.61%
2004 | 33,151  | 41.19%  | 46,598  | 57.90% | 730  | 0.91%
2000 | 27,467  | 39.01%  | 40,472  | 57.49% | 2,465  | 3.50%
1996 | 20,096  | 33.32%  | 32,450  | 53.80% | 7,774  | 12.89%
1992 | 21,942  | 31.79%  | 31,154  | 45.13% | 15,929  | 23.08%
1988 | 28,178  | 48.43%  | 29,576  | 50.83% | 434  | 0.75%
1984 | 32,491  | 54.76% | 26,433  | 44.55%  | 410  | 0.69%
1980 | 30,960  | 50.60% | 24,740  | 40.44%  | 5,482  | 8.96%
1976 | 28,325  | 49.04% | 28,048  | 48.56%  | 1,389  | 2.40%
1972 | 30,361  | 58.03% | 21,033  | 40.20%  | 925  | 1.77%
1968 | 25,229  | 50.97% | 20,567  | 41.56%  | 3,697  | 7.47%
1964 | 20,372  | 41.85%  | 28,257  | 58.04% | 55  | 0.11%
1960 | 29,675  | 60.63% | 19,194  | 39.22%  | 76  | 0.16%
1956 | 28,980  | 67.42% | 13,834  | 32.18%  | 173  | 0.40%
1952 | 27,837  | 64.64% | 15,183  | 35.26%  | 45  | 0.10%
1948 | 17,068  | 50.66% | 16,150  | 47.93%  | 474  | 1.41%
1944 | 18,477  | 52.23% | 16,766  | 47.39%  | 133  | 0.38%
1940 | 20,141  | 53.15% | 17,543  | 46.29%  | 214  | 0.56%
1936 | 14,693  | 43.56%  | 17,991  | 53.34% | 1,045  | 3.10%
1932 | 16,825  | 56.07% | 12,612  | 42.03%  | 571  | 1.90%
1928 | 21,497  | 70.75% | 8,726  | 28.72%  | 161  | 0.53%
1924 | 14,815  | 60.92% | 1,453  | 5.97%  | 8,052  | 33.11%
1920 | 16,152  | 83.53% | 2,447  | 12.65%  | 738  | 3.82%
1916 | 7,011  | 61.09% | 4,015  | 34.98%  | 451  | 3.93%
1912 | 4,276  | 43.21% | 3,032  | 30.64%  | 2,587  | 26.14%
1908 | 7,839  | 66.81% | 3,227  | 27.50%  | 668  | 5.69%
1904 | 7,972  | 71.65% | 2,348  | 21.10%  | 807  | 7.25%
1900 | 8,249  | 69.97% | 3,094  | 26.24%  | 447  | 3.79%
1896 | 8,282  | 67.46% | 3,655  | 29.77%  | 340  | 2.77%
1892 | 6,052  | 55.24% | 4,231  | 38.62%  | 673  | 6.14%

## Education

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School districts include:[14]

* Albany School District
* Beloit School District
* Beloit Turner School District
* Brodhead School District
* Clinton Community School District
* Delavan-Darien School District
* Edgerton School District
* Evansville Community School District
* Fort Atkinson School District
* Janesville School District
* Milton School District
* Oregon School District
* Parkview School District
* Stoughton Area School District
* Whitewater School District

There is a state-operated school, Wisconsin School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

## Tree cities

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* Beloit
* Clinton
* Edgerton
* Evansville
* Janesville

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Rock County, Wisconsin

## References

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1. ^ a b c d "2020 Decennial Census: Rock County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies". Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
4. ^ "Rock County, origin of place name" Dictionary of Wisconsin History.
5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
6. ^ Great Wisconsin Birding & Nature Trail. Cook Memorial Arboretum.
7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
9. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
11. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
12. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
13. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
14. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Rock County, WI" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022. \- Text list

## Further reading

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* Brown, William F. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History... Vol. 1, Chicago: Cooper, 1908.
* Brown, William F. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History... Vol. 2, Chicago: Cooper, 1908.
* Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette, Wisconsin, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families. Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co., 1901.
* The History of Rock County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879.
* Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Acme Publishing Company, 1889.
* Sayre, David F. "Early Life in Southern Wisconsin", Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 3, no. 4 (June 1920), pp. 420–427.
* Smith, Isaac T. "Early Settlement of Rock County" in Wisconsin Historical Collections, vol. VI. Madison, Wis.: Atwood & Culver, 1872, pp. 416–425.
* Walterman, Thomas. There Stands "Old Rock": Rock County, Wisconsin and the War to Preserve the Union. Friendship, Wis.: New Past Press, 2001. ISBN 0-938627-50-3

## External links

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* Rock County government website
* Rock County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
* Rock County 5.0
* Rock County Historical Society
* Rock County Genealogical Society
* Beloit Janesville Symphony

Places adjacent to Rock County, Wisconsin

|  | Dane County | Jefferson County

|
|

|  |
Green County |

File:Pfeil links.svgRock County, Wisconsin

| Walworth County
|  |
| Winnebago County, Illinois and Boone County, Illinois |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Rock County, Wisconsin, United States

County seat: Janesville

Cities|

* Beloit
* Brodhead‡
* Edgerton‡
* Evansville
* Janesville
* Milton

File:Map of Wisconsin highlighting Rock County.svg

Villages|

* Clinton
* Footville
* Orfordville

Towns|

* Avon
* Beloit
* Bradford
* Center
* Clinton
* Fulton
* Harmony
* Janesville
* Johnstown
* La Prairie
* Lima
* Magnolia
* Milton
* Newark
* Plymouth
* Porter
* Rock
* Spring Valley
* Turtle
* Union

CDPs|

* Fulton
* Hanover
* Shopiere

Other
communities|

* Afton
* Anderson
* Avalon
* Avon
* Belcrest
* Bergen
* Cainville
* Center
* Charlie Bluff
* Cooksville
* Coopers Shores
* Crestview
* Emerald Grove
* Fairfield‡
* Foxhollow
* Indianford
* Johnstown
* Johnstown Center
* Koshkonong‡
* Leyden
* Lima Center
* Magnolia
* Maple Beach
* Newark
* Newville
* Porters
* Stebbinsville
* Tiffany
* Union
* Victory Heights

Former
communities|

* Fellows
* Jefferson Prairie Settlement

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* United States portal

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State of Wisconsin

Madison (capital)

Topics|

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Society|

* Administrative divisions
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Regions|

* Apostle Islands
* Central Plain
* Chippewa Valley
* Door Peninsula
* Driftless Area
* Eastern Ridges and Lowlands
* Fox River Valley
* Great River Road
* Lake Superior Lowland
* Northern Highland
* Western Upland

Major metropolitan areas
(pop. over 500,000)|

* Chicago metropolitan area
* Madison metropolitan area
* Milwaukee metropolitan area
* Twin Cities metropolitan area

Largest cities
(pop. over 50,000)|

* Appleton
* Eau Claire
* Green Bay
* Janesville
* Kenosha
* La Crosse
* Madison
* Milwaukee
* Oshkosh
* Racine
* Waukesha
* West Allis

Smaller cities
(pop. 15,000 to 50,000)|

* Beaver Dam
* Beloit
* Brookfield
* Cudahy
* De Pere
* Fitchburg
* Fond du Lac
* Franklin
* Greenfield
* Hartford
* Hudson
* Kaukauna
* Manitowoc
* Marshfield
* Menasha
* Menomonie
* Mequon
* Middleton
* Muskego
* Neenah
* New Berlin
* Oak Creek
* Oconomowoc
* Onalaska
* River Falls
* Sheboygan
* South Milwaukee
* Stevens Point
* Sun Prairie
* Superior
* Watertown
* Wausau
* Wauwatosa
* West Bend
* Wisconsin Rapids

Largest villages
(pop. over 15,000)|

* Ashwaubenon
* Bellevue
* Caledonia
* Fox Crossing
* Germantown
* Howard
* Menomonee Falls
* Mount Pleasant
* Pleasant Prairie

Counties|

* Adams
* Ashland
* Barron
* Bayfield
* Brown
* Buffalo
* Burnett
* Calumet
* Chippewa
* Clark
* Columbia
* Crawford
* Dane
* Dodge
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* Dunn
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* Green Lake
* Iowa
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* Jackson
* Jefferson
* Juneau
* Kenosha
* Kewaunee
* La Crosse
* Lafayette
* Langlade
* Lincoln
* Manitowoc
* Marathon
* Marinette
* Marquette
* Menominee
* Milwaukee
* Monroe
* Oconto
* Oneida
* Outagamie
* Ozaukee
* Pepin
* Pierce
* Polk
* Portage
* Price
* Racine
* Richland
* Rock
* Rusk
* Sauk
* Sawyer
* Shawano
* Sheboygan
* St. Croix
* Taylor
* Trempealeau
* Vernon
* Vilas
* Walworth
* Washburn
* Washington
* Waukesha
* Waupaca
* Waushara
* Winnebago
* Wood

Coordinates: 42°40′N 89°04′W﻿ / ﻿42.67°N 89.07°W﻿ / 42.67; -89.07
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