Benewah County, Idaho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Benewah County
U.S. county
Benewah County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Idaho
Idaho's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Idaho
Founded	January 23, 1915
Seat	St. Maries
Largest city	St. Maries
Area
• Total	784 sq mi (2,030 km2)
• Land	777 sq mi (2,010 km2)
• Water	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,530
• Estimate  (2021)	9,931
• Density	12.156/sq mi (4.693/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	1st

Benewah County (/ˈbɛnəˌwɑː/) is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States Census the county had a population of 9,530. The county seat and largest city is St. Maries, which has some area inside the Coeur d'Alene Reservation.

The county was established on January 23, 1915, of land partitioned from Kootenai County. It was named for a chief of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. The federally recognized Coeur d'Alene Tribe is based on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in this and neighboring Kootenai County.

Geography

Benewah County lies on the west line of the state. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Washington. The county has a total area of 784 square miles (2,030 km²), of which 777 square miles (2,010 km²) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (0.9%) is water. It is the northern part of the Palouse, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

National protected area

• St. Joe National Forest (part)

State protected areas

• Heyburn State Park
• McCroskey State Park

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,285 people, 3,837 households, and 2,571 families in the county. The population density was 12.0 inhabitants per square mile (4.6/km²). There were 4,629 housing units at an average density of 6.0 per square mile (2.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.6% white, 8.7% Native American, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of European ancestry, 23.7% were German, 17.5% were Irish, 14.6% were English, 7.1% were Norwegian, and 3.4% were American.

Of the 3,837 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.0% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 44.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,500 and the median income for a family was $41,759. Males had a median income of $37,214 versus $22,348 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,312. About 11.2% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Plummer
• St. Maries
• Tensed

Census-designated places

• De Smet
• Fernwood
• Parkline

Unincorporated communities

Education

School districts include:

• Kootenai Joint School District 274
• Plummer-Worley Joint School District 44
• St. Maries Joint School District 41

It is in the catchment area, but not the taxation zone, for North Idaho College.

Images for kids

• 

  Heyburn State Park information sign

• 

  Map of McCroskey State Park

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Benewah para niños