Cedar County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,499. Its county seat is Tipton. The county is named for the Cedar River, which runs through the county. Cedar County is located between the Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities and Iowa City metropolitan areas, areas also known as the "Tri-Metro" county. It is the only Iowa county which shares the name of a tree. Cedar County was the focus of the Iowa Cow War of 1931.
The 2010 census recorded a population of 13,956 in the county, with a population density of. There were 8,064 housing units, of which 7,511 were occupied.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,187 people, 7,147 households, and 5,138 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile. There were 7,570 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,147 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couplesliving together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,198, and the median income for a family was $48,850. Males had a median income of $32,008 versus $23,260 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,200. About 4.00% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.
John Brown, abolitionist, maintained his headquarters at William Maxson's house near the small community of Springdale in Cedar County while planning his Harpers Ferry raid; Edwin and Barclay Coppock of Springdale participated in the raid.
