First, let me concede that this might only be interesting
trivia for someone like me with an interest in government. Second, I might not have thought about posting it except that Dave Franzman of KCRG-TV called me the other day
and wanted to know how many Linn
County residents lived in
the unincorporated areas of the County.
Now I have the answer and you can find it below along with some other
facts I found interesting.
We seem to always be having discussions about urban sprawl. About 75.5% of Linn County’s
total area is classified as agricultural, i.e., 344,439 acres. The 2007 market value of those acres is $3,983
per acre although some ag land is selling for $20,000 per acre, e.g., in Robins. For comparison, Buchanan County
is 92.2% (335,765 acres @ $3562 market value) agricultural, Johnson County
is 73.7% (291,016 acres @ $3911 market value) agricultural, and Polk County
is 45.4% (172,452 acres @ $3487 market value) agricultural.
Here’s the answer to Dave Franzman’s question: Linn
County’s estimated
population on July 1, 2006 was 201,853.
About 9.9% (20,041) live in the unincorporated areas and 90.1% (181,812)
live in the cities.
And finally, one of the economic indicators that seem to be
in the news on a daily basis is home ownership. As of the 2000 census, our homeownership was
72.7% and we were ranked 81st out of 99 counties. For comparison, Buchanan County’s
homeownership is 78.2% (22nd), Johnson’s is 56.6% (99th),
and Polk’s is 68.8% (95th). We're going to continue to hear more about homeownership as the sub-prime meltdown continues.
For additional facts on Linn County
compared to other counties, click on the COUNTY FINANCIAL OVERVIEW published in
January 2008 by the Iowa State Association of Counties. --Joel @ 2:30pm