Johnston, Iowa

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Johnston is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,649 at the 2000 census; a special census taken in 2005 counted 13,596 residents.^[1] It is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.

Johnston is the location of the headquarters of Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds and Iowa Public Television. The Camp Dodge Military Reservation is also located here.

History

Johnston was established in 1905 as a station on the interurban railway between Des Moines and Perry known as Johnston Station. It was named for the railway's freight supervisor, John F. Johnston.^[2]

Incorporation did not come until September 18, 1969. At the time, the Johnston Station area did not become part of the incorporated city because of a state law that prevented a town within three miles of another city from incorporating. The neighboring cities of Des Moines and Urbandale were also interested in that land, but in April 1970, Johnston and Urbandale reached an agreement that allowed Johnston to annex the Johnston Station area.^[3]

Geography

Johnston is located at 41¡Æ40¡Ç17¡ÈN, 93¡Æ42¡Ç21¡ÈW (41.671337, -93.705800)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.1 km©÷ (15.5 mi©÷). 37.2 km©÷ (14.4 mi©÷) of it is land and 3.0 km©÷ (1.1 mi©÷) of it (7.36%) is water.

The city is bordered on the east by the Des Moines River and the city's area includes part of Saylorville Reservoir. On the south the city is bordered by Interstate 80 and on the west the city limits extend to a half mile east of Highway 141. The city is bisected by Beaver Creek, which flows southerly through the city until it nearly reaches Interstate 80, at which point the course turn easterly and flows to the Des Moines River.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,649 people, 3,216 households, and 2,318 families residing in the city. The population density was 232.7/km©÷ (602.8/mi©÷). There were 3,406 housing units at an average density of 91.6/km©÷ (237.4/mi©÷). The racial makeup of the city was 96.20% White, 0.58% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population.

There were 3,216 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $76,094, and the median income for a family was $97,322. Males had a median income of $61,585 versus $36,008 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,407. About 2.0% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

References