Webster County, Iowa Facts for Kids

This article is about Webster County (disambiguation)|Webster County. For other uses, see Webster County, Iowa (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Webster County
U.S. county
The courthouse in Fort Dodge is on the NRHP.
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	January 15, 1851
Named for	Daniel Webster
Seat	Fort Dodge
Largest city	Fort Dodge
Area
• Total	718 sq mi (1,860 km²)
• Land	716 sq mi (1,850 km²)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7 km²) 0.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	36,999
• Density	51.53/sq mi (19.896/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Webster County is a county located in the state of Iowa in the United States. In 2020, about 36,999 people lived here. The main city and government center is Fort Dodge.

The county was created in January 1851. It was one of 43 counties started by a group of laws passed at that time. Webster County is named after Daniel Webster. He was a famous American leader known for his great speeches. The area around Fort Dodge, including Webster County, is sometimes called the Fort Dodge, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area. This means it's a smaller city area that is important for jobs and life in the region.

Exploring Webster County's Geography
Population and People of Webster County
- What the 2020 Census Shows
- Population by City and Town
Communities in Webster County
Notable People from Webster County
Images for kids
See also

Exploring Webster County's Geography

Webster County covers an area of about 718 square miles. Most of this area, about 716 square miles, is land. The rest, about 2.8 square miles, is water. That's about 0.4% of the county's total size.

Main Roads and Highways

Several important roads help people travel through Webster County. These are like the main arteries of the county, connecting different towns and areas.

U.S. Highway 20 – This highway goes from east to west right through the middle of Webster County. It passes through towns like Moorland and Coalville.
U.S. Highway 169 – This highway enters the northern part of the county. It runs south to Harcourt, then goes east for a few miles before turning south again to leave the county.
Iowa Highway 7 – This road comes into western Webster County from Manson. It goes east until it meets U.S. Highway 169 in Fort Dodge.
Iowa Highway 175 – This highway enters the southeastern part of Webster County from Stratford. It travels west and then north, connecting with U.S. Highway 169.
Iowa Highway 144 – This road enters the southern part of the county. It goes north until it connects with Iowa Highway 175.

Public Transportation and Travel

Dodger Area Rapid Transit – This is a local bus service that helps people get around Fort Dodge and nearby areas.
List of intercity bus stops in Iowa – You can find places here where buses stop to take people to other cities.

Fort Dodge Regional Airport

The Fort Dodge Regional Airport (FOD) is located just north of Fort Dodge. It's mainly used for smaller, private planes. However, you can also catch daily flights from here to bigger airports like Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. There are also connecting flights through Mason City to Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Neighboring Counties

Webster County shares its borders with several other counties in Iowa:

Boone County (to the southeast)
Calhoun County (to the west)
Greene County (to the southwest)
Hamilton County (to the east)
Humboldt County (to the north)
Pocahontas County (to the northwest)
Wright County (to the northeast)

Population and People of Webster County

The number of people living in Webster County has changed over the years. Here's a look at how the population has grown and shifted.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	2,504	—
1870	10,484	318.7%
1880	15,951	52.1%
1890	21,582	35.3%
1900	31,757	47.1%
1910	34,629	9.0%
1920	37,611	8.6%
1930	40,425	7.5%
1940	41,521	2.7%
1950	44,241	6.6%
1960	47,810	8.1%
1970	48,391	1.2%
1980	45,953	−5.0%
1990	40,342	−12.2%
2000	40,235	−0.3%
2010	38,013	−5.5%
2020	36,999	−2.7%
2023 (est.)	36,485	−4.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2018

This chart shows how the population of Webster County changed from 1860 to 2010.

What the 2020 Census Shows

The 2020 census counted 36,999 people living in Webster County. This means there are about 51 people living in each square mile. Most people (94.86%) said they belonged to one race. There were 16,937 homes in the county, and 15,046 of them were lived in.

This chart, called a population pyramid, shows the age and gender groups in Webster County in 2022.

Webster County Racial Composition
Race	Number of People	Percentage
White (not Hispanic)	31,372	84.8%
Black or African American (not Hispanic)	1,773	4.8%
Native American (not Hispanic)	112	0.3%
Asian (not Hispanic)	295	0.8%
Pacific Islander (not Hispanic)	16	0.04%
Other/Mixed (not Hispanic)	1,368	3.7%
Hispanic or Latino	2,063	5.6%

Population by City and Town

Here's a list of the cities and towns in Webster County, ranked by how many people lived there in 2020.

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Fort Dodge	City	24,871
2	Gowrie	City	952
3	Dayton	City	772
4	Coalville	CDP	651
5	Badger	City	522
6	Otho	City	429
7	Lehigh	City	395
8	Duncombe	City	381
9	Callender	City	368
10	Harcourt	City	264
11	Barnum	City	175
12	Moorland	City	168
13	Clare	City	136
14	Vincent	City	130
15	Stratford (mostly in Hamilton County)	City	22 (707 total)
16	Farnhamville (mostly in Calhoun County)	City	0 (383 total)