Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,377. Its county seat is Stevens Point.
Portage County comprises the Stevens Point, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Wausau-Stevens Point-Wisconsin Rapids, WI Combined Statistical Area.
History
Portage County was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and organized in 1844. Like the city of Portage, Portage County is named for the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers; Portage County originally included the portage and Portage but boundary changes detached the county from its namesake.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.7%) is water.
Major highways
Airport
KSTE - Stevens Point Municipal Airport
Adjacent counties
Marathon County - north
Shawano County - northeast
Waupaca County - east
Waushara County - southeast
Adams County - southwest
Wood County - west
Wildlife refuges
Buena Vista Marsh
Dewey Marsh
Mead Wildlife Area
Paul J. Olson Wildlife Area
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 67,182 people, 25,040 households, and 16,501 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile (32/km2). There were 26,589 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.73% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.8% were of Polish, 31.6% German, 5.4% Norwegian and 5.0% Irish ancestry. 93.9% spoke English, 1.7% Spanish, 1.6% Polish and 1.3% Hmong as their first language.
There were 25,040 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 16.20% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 10.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.
In 2017, there were 674 births, giving a general fertility rate of 46.4 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the third lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.
Communities
City
Stevens Point (county seat)
Villages
Almond
Amherst
Amherst Junction
Junction City
Milladore (mostly in Wood County)
Nelsonville
Park Ridge
Plover
Rosholt
Whiting
Towns
Alban
Almond
Amherst
Belmont
Buena Vista
Carson
Dewey
Eau Pleine
Grant
Hull
Lanark
Linwood
New Hope
Pine Grove
Plover
Sharon
Stockton
Census-designated places
Bancroft
Polonia
Unincorporated communities
Alban
Arnott
Badger
Blaine
Casimir
Coddington
Custer
Dopp
Ellis
Esker
Fancher
Garfield
Heffron (partial)
Keene
Kellner (partial)
Little Waupon
Jordan
Meehan
Mill Creek Community
New Hope
North Star
Peru
Rocky Run
Stockton
Torun
West Almond
West Bancroft
Ghost town/neighborhood
Lake Emily
Politics
Portage County has been reliably Democratic since Eisenhower's win in 1956, but in 2016 and 2020, Republican Donald Trump has been short of winning the county by around 1,000 votes.
