Walworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478. Its county seat is Elkhorn. The county was created in 1836 from Wisconsin Territory and organized in 1839. It is named for Reuben H. Walworth. Walworth County comprises the Whitewater–Elkhorn, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area. The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater is located in Walworth County.
Walworth County features several major tourist destinations: Lake Geneva, Alpine Valley Resort, and Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Tourism is a large contributor to Walworth County's economy. It is Wisconsin's fifteenth largest county in population, but it is the sixth largest in terms of economic impact from tourism (nearly $1 billion in 2023).
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.7%) is water.
Transportation
Major highways
Interstate 43 U.S. Highway 12 U.S. Highway 14 Highway 11 (Wisconsin) Highway 20 (Wisconsin) Highway 36 (Wisconsin) Highway 50 (Wisconsin) Highway 59 (Wisconsin) Highway 67 (Wisconsin) Highway 83 (Wisconsin) Highway 89 (Wisconsin) Highway 120 (Wisconsin)
Railroads Canadian National East Troy Electric Railroad Union Pacific Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
Buses
Airport East Troy Municipal Airport , serves the county and surrounding communities
Adjacent counties Waukesha County (northeast) Racine County (east) Kenosha County (east) McHenry County, Illinois (southeast) Boone County, Illinois (southwest) Rock County (west) Jefferson County (northwest)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Walworth County, Wisconsin – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)69,09071,83485,42888,69088,10496.62%95.78%91.11%86.76%82.74%Black or African American alone (NH)4164437479041,1660.58%0.59%0.80%0.88%1.10%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1141931771962290.16%0.26%0.19%0.19%0.22%Asian alone (NH)3124835928191,0020.44%0.64%0.63%0.80%0.94%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census163310xx0.02%0.03%0.01%Other race alone (NH)2453046672680.34%0.04%0.05%0.07%0.25%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census6179413,149xx0.66%0.92%2.96%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,3302,0176,13610,57812,5501.86%2.69%6.54%10.35%11.79%Total71,50775,00093,759102,228106,478 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,478. The population density was . There were 53,146 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 85.4% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.6% from some other race, and 7.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.8% of the population.
The median age was 41.0 years, with 20.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over.
63.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 36.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 42,378 households in the county, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.8% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 53,146 housing units, of which 20.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.9% were owner-occupied and 31.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.
2000 census At the 2000 census there were 93,759 people, 34,522 households, and 23,267 families in the county. The population density was . There were 43,783 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.49% White, 0.84% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 6.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 34,522 households 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of households were one person and 9.20% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.
The age distribution was 24.20% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.
In 2017, there were 918 births, giving a general fertility rate of 48.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the sixth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.
Communities
Cities Burlington (mostly in Racine County) Delavan
Elkhorn (county seat) Lake Geneva Whitewater (partly in Jefferson County)
Villages
Bloomfield Darien East Troy Fontana-on-Geneva Lake Genoa City (partly in Kenosha County) Mukwonago (mostly in Waukesha County) Sharon Walworth Williams Bay
Towns
Bloomfield Darien Delavan East Troy Geneva Lafayette La Grange Linn Lyons Richmond Sharon Spring Prairie Sugar Creek Troy Walworth Whitewater
Census-designated places Allen's Grove Big Foot Prairie Como Delavan Lake Lake Ivanhoe Lake Lorraine Lauderdale Lakes Lyons Potter Lake Springfield
Turtle Lake
Unincorporated communities
Fairfield (partial) Honey Creek (partial) Honey Lake (partial) La Grange Lake Beulah Lauderdale Lauderdale Shores Little Prairie Millard Pell Lake Powers Lake Spring Prairie Tibbets Troy Center Voree Zenda
Ghost towns Army Lake Mayhews
Politics
Owing to its Yankee heritage,Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Vites: An Electoral History, p. 14 which contrasts with the German-American or Scandinavian-American character of most of Wisconsin, Walworth County was initially a stronghold of the Free Soil Party.Fowler, Robert Booth; Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History, Volume 3, p. 11 It voted for Martin van Buren and John P. Hale in Wisconsin's first two presidential elections,Beckwith, Albert Clayton; History of Walworth County, Wisconsin pp. 98-99 Published 1912 by B.F. Bowen and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana and its opposition to the spread of slavery led to its population voting Republican in subsequent elections, even resisting the appeal of Wisconsin native Robert La Follette when he carried the state in 1924 as a Progressive.See Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 441-442
Walworth County remains strongly Republican.See McDade, Philip J.; 'Congressional Restricting in Wisconsin' The only Democrat to carry the county was Woodrow Wilson in 1912, who won 36 percent of the vote. Even with the GOP mortally divided between President William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson only won the county by 29 votes. The best Democratic showings since then have been by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Barack Obama in 2008, both of whom received around 48 percent. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton are the only other Democrats since Wilson to cross the 40 percent mark, though John Kerry and Joe Biden came very close in 2004 and 2020, respectively.
Education School districts include: - [Text list]
K-12:
Burlington Area School District Clinton Community School District Delavan-Darien School District East Troy Community School District Elkhorn Area School District Mukwonago School District Palmyra-Eagle Area School District Whitewater School District Williams Bay School District
Secondary: Big Foot Union High School District Lake Geneva-Genoa City Union High School District
Elementary:
Fontana Joint No. 8 School District Geneva Joint No. 4 School District Genoa City Joint No. 2 School District Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District Linn Joint No. 4 School District Linn Joint No. 6 School District Sharon Joint No. 11 School District Walworth Joint No. 1 School District
Wisconsin School for the Deaf, a state-operated school, is in the county.
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Walworth County, Wisconsin Walworth County Fairgrounds
References
Further reading History of Walworth County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1882.
External links Walworth County Walworth County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Travel Guide for Lake Geneva and Walworth County, WI Combination Atlas Map, 1873