Belle Plaine, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belle Plaine is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,878 at the 2000 census. Belle Plaine is located on both the historic Lincoln Highway and the cross country tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Belle Plaine area was hard hit by the February 24, 2007 ice storm with power outages.

[edit] Geography

Belle Plaine is located at 41°53′48″N, 92°16′39″W (41.896639, -92.277496).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.31% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,878 people, 1,212 households, and 749 families residing in the city. The population density was 344.0/km² (890.6/mi²). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 157.5/km² (407.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.92% White, 0.07% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 1,212 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,316, and the median income for a family was $47,105. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $24,966 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,321. About 3.3% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

The mayor of Belle Plaine is Jim Daily. The City Manager is Bill Daily. Jed Eichhorn is the Park and Rec Director. Kris Hudson is the Police Chief. Russ Spading is the Fire Chief.