Demographics

Jackson County Demographics / Wage Info

The Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission has made the information possible on this web page.  Many of the links are external links to their website for your viewing purposes.  To visit the MRRPC website click on the link above.  To read more about the specifics of the land in Jackson county click here.

County Economic Data	Jackson County 2000 Census Profile
Population Trends 1960-2000	Population:	19,100
Housing Unit Trends 1970-2000	Land Area (Sq. Miles)	987
Population Projections to 2025	Persons per square mile	19
Real Estate Equal. Values 1980-2002	Housing Units	8,029
Household/Family Income Trends 1979-1999	Per Capita Income	$17,604
Poverty Trends 1979-1999	Median Household Income	$37,015
	Median Housing Value	$76,800
	Median Rent	$397
	Largest Employment Sector
	Education, Health & Social Services	-1667
	County Labor Force:	9,710

Population Trends:

Population:		1970	1980	1990	2000	% Chg. '90-'00
Jackson County		15,325	16,831	16,588	19,100	12.03%
Black River Falls		3,273	3,434	3,490	3,618	1.04
Villages of:
	Alma Center	495	454	414	447	1.08
	Hixton	300	364	345	358	1.04
	Melrose	505	507	551	562	1.02
	Merrillan	612	587	553	583	1.05
	Taylor	322	411	419	463	1.11

Land Area:
Jackson County: 634,114 acres: 57,000 acres of state and county forestland;  987 square miles.

Mileage to Major Cities:

Cedar Rapids IA	210
Chicago IL	264
Duluth-Superior MN	202
Eau Claire	50
Green Bay	159
La Crosse	50
Madison	130
Milwaukee	190
Minneapolis/St. Paul MN	132
Rochester MN	110
Sioux Falls SD	350

CLIMATE (2001) Averages

Monthly (F-Temps):	Highs		Lows	Precipitation
January	21º	to	1º	1.12"
February	30	to	5	1.03"
March	42	to	18	2.00"
April	57	to	31	2.87"
May	69	to	42	3.66"
June	77	to	52	4.58"
July	87	to	57	4.62"
August	79	to	55	4.30"
September	71	to	45	3.51"
October	59	to	34	2.32"
November	41	to	21	2.18"
December	27	to	8	1.36"

For a profile of the City of Black River Falls, Click Here

Jackson County is largely rural, located in West-Central Wisconsin with a population just over 19,100 people.  Jackson County is 634,114 acres of land:  57,000 acres of state and county forestland; and 987 square miles in size.  It contains large regions of forested land, which make a popular tourist area for outdoor recreation.

The eastern half of the County is nearly all forest and is mostly level terrain except for a few ranges of sandstone ridges.  This area was the bed of the large central Wisconsin lake formed 10,000 years ago when the last of glaciers melted away. The eastern half of the County contains the 120,000-acre Jackson county Forest as well as the 65,000-acre Black River State Forest.  This area is popular for outdoor recreation such as hunting, ATV-in, snowmobiling, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling and cross-country skiing.

The western half of the County is part of the drift less (non-glaciated) region of Wisconsin.  This area is mostly rolling hills and valley, (known locally as coulees), and is scattered with dairy farms.  The land that is too steep for farming is primarily oak forest.

The east half and west half of the county are divided by the scenic and wild Black River.  For 10 miles, before reaching the County Seat of Black River Falls, the Black River winds its way through a channel cut into the red granite bedrock.  Each side of the river is lined with granite boulders and mature white pine forest.  This stretch of the river has almost no development until you reach the City of Black River Falls.

Agriculture:
Agricultural land makes up approximately 1.8% of the equalized value of the Black River Falls School District.  In 2001, (the most recent statistics available), Jackson County recorded 28 agricultural land transactions, a total of 996 acres sold at an average of $1,071 per acre, compared to the state average of $2,384 per acre.  Important crops grown in the area are cranberries, oats, corn, soybeans and hay.  This area also has production in mile, cattle and pigs.