Decatur County, Iowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Decatur County
U.S. county
Decatur County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1846
Named for	Stephen Decatur Jr.
Seat	Leon
Largest city	Lamoni
Area
• Total	533 sq mi (1,380 km2)
• Land	532 sq mi (1,380 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,645
• Density	14.343/sq mi (5.538/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Decatur County is a county found in the state of Iowa, USA. In 2020, about 7,645 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is Leon. This county got its name from Stephen Decatur Jr., a brave hero from the War of 1812.

History of Decatur County

Decatur County was officially created in 1850. It was named after Stephen Decatur, a famous naval hero. He was known for his bravery during the War of 1812. The main building for the county, called the courthouse, was finished in 1908.

Geography and Location

Decatur County covers a total area of about 533 square miles. Most of this area, about 532 square miles, is land. Only a small part, about 1.6 square miles, is water.

Main Roads in the County

You can find these important roads in Decatur County:

• Interstate 35
• U.S. Highway 69
• Iowa Highway 2

Public Transport

• Jefferson Lines offers bus services in the area.

Neighboring Counties

Decatur County shares its borders with several other counties:

• Clarke County (to the north)
• Wayne County (to the east)
• Mercer County, Missouri (to the southeast)
• Harrison County, Missouri (to the southwest)
• Ringgold County (to the west)

Population and People

This chart shows how the population of Decatur County has changed over time, based on US census data.

Population in 2020

The 2020 census counted 7,645 people living in Decatur County. This means there were about 14 people for every square mile. Most people, about 96.44%, said they belonged to one race. There were 3,653 homes in the county, and 2,986 of them were lived in.

County Leaders

These are some of the people who help run Decatur County:

Supervisors

• Steve Fulkerson
• Doug Tharp
• Ward Graham

Treasurer

• Janet Pierson

Attorney

• Alan Wilson

Auditor

• Charlene Hoover

Recorder

• Erica Cook

Sheriff

• Chris Lane

Assessor

• Justin Cornett

Engineer

• Justin Savage

Clerk of Court

• Traci Tharp

Public Health Administrator

• Shelley Bickel

Veterans Affairs Administrator

• Samantha Schaff

Conservation Director

• Kayla Clausen

Mental Health Director

• Kathy Lerma

Towns and Areas

An old map of Decatur County, Iowa, from 1894.

Cities in Decatur County

Townships in the County

Decatur County is also divided into smaller areas called townships:

City Sizes by Population

This table shows the cities in Decatur County, ranked by how many people lived there in 2020.

† This symbol means it's the county seat, or main town.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Decatur (Iowa) para niños