Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1494|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|589|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|905|sqmi}} (61%) is water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_55.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}

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• 20px Interstate 43
• 20px U.S. Highway 10
• 20px U.S. Highway 151
• 20px Highway 32 (Wisconsin)
• 20px Highway 42 (Wisconsin)

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• 20px Highway 57 (Wisconsin)
• 20px Highway 67 (Wisconsin)
• 20px Highway 147 (Wisconsin)
• 20px Highway 310 (Wisconsin)

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• Canadian National

• Maritime Metro Transit

Manitowoc County Airport (KMTW) serves the county and surrounding communities.

• Brown County – northwest
• Kewaunee County – northeast
• Sheboygan County – south
• Calumet County – west
• Mason County, Michigan – east and southeast
• Manistee County, Michigan – northeast

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary was established in 2021 in the waters of Lake Michigan, with most of its northern half lying off Manitowoc County's coast. The national marine sanctuary is the site of a large number of historically significant shipwrecks.{{cite web|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/06/23/2021-12846/wisconsin-shipwreck-coast-national-marine-sanctuary-designation-final-regulations|title=Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Designation; Final Regulations|publisher=NOAA via Federal Register|date=June 23, 2021 |access-date=June 29, 2021}}[https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/media/docs/wisconsin-shipwreck-coast-national-marine-sanctuary.pdf National Marine Sanctuaries media document: Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Accessed 29 June 2021][https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-designates-new-national-marine-sanctuary-in-wisconsin-s-lake-michigan NOAA News "NOAA designates new national marine sanctuary in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan," June 22, 2021 Accessed 29 June 2021]

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|{{climate chart

| Manitowoc County

| -8| -6| 62

| -11| -6| 62

| -3| 3| 66

| 2| 9| 141

| 2| 12| 105

| 9| 21| 106

| 14| 19| 108

| 18| 18| 88

| 12| 19| 72

| 5| 9| 121

| 2| 5| 68

| -2| 1| 61

|float=left

|clear=left

|source = {{Cite web |url= http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/dataset_index.php|title= NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index|access-date = January 30, 2016 |publisher= NASA}}

}}

|}

{{US Census population

|1840= 235

|1850= 3702

|1860= 22416

|1870= 33364

|1880= 37505

|1890= 37831

|1900= 42261

|1910= 44978

|1920= 51644

|1930= 58674

|1940= 61617

|1950= 67159

|1960= 75215

|1970= 82294

|1980= 82918

|1990= 80421

|2000= 82887

|2010= 81442

|2020= 81359

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 6, 2015}}
1790–1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=August 6, 2015}} 1900–1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wi190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=August 6, 2015}}
1990–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=August 6, 2015}} 2010–2020

}}

As of the census of 2020,{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census: Manitowoc County, Wisconsin |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US55071&y=2020&d=DEC%20Redistricting%20Data%20%28PL%2094-171%29 |website=data.census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=July 2, 2022}} the population was 81,359. The population density was {{convert|138.1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 37,818 housing units at an average density of {{convert|64.2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% White, 2.8% Asian, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.8% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 5.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

{{Stack|Image:USA Manitowoc County, Wisconsin age pyramid.svg}}

The 2000 census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} shows Manitowoc County as having 82,887 people, 32,721 households and 22,348 families. The population density was {{convert|140|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 34,651 housing units at an average density of {{convert|59|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 95.90% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.98% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.7% were of German, 7.3% Polish, 5.3% Czech and 5.0% American ancestry. 95.2% spoke English, 1.8% Spanish, 1.3% Hmong and 1.1% German as their first language.

There were 32,721 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.70% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the age distribution is 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 23% from 45 to 64, and 15.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males.

In 2017, there were 780 births, giving a general fertility rate of 60.2 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 27th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx |title=Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables |access-date=June 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619175940/https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx |archive-date=June 19, 2019 |url-status=dead }}

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The county executive is Bob Ziegelbauer. He is serving his fourth term in that position after being elected in April 2006 and reelected in April 2010, April 2014, and April 2018.{{cite news|last1=Schafer|first1=Alisa M.|title=3 Bob Ziegelbauer re-elected as county exec; Manitowoc schools referendum passes|url=https://www.htrnews.com/story/news/2018/04/03/manitowoc-county-election-voter-turnout-high-tuesday-morning/482410002/|access-date=May 26, 2018|work=Herald Times Reporter|date=April 3, 2018}} The county is served by a 25-member county board.

{{PresHead|place=Manitowoc County, Wisconsin|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=November 11, 2020}}}}

{{PresRow|2024|Republican|28,200|17,399|717|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2020|Republican|27,218|16,818|793|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2016|Republican|23,244|14,538|3,004|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2012|Republican|21,604|20,403|610|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|19,234|22,428|752|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2004|Republican|23,027|20,652|481|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|2000|Republican|19,358|17,667|1,799|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|13,239|16,750|4,455|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|14,008|15,903|11,357|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|16,020|19,680|287|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1984|Republican|19,639|17,250|487|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1980|Republican|18,591|17,330|2,811|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|16,039|19,819|913|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1972|Republican|16,599|16,489|1,132|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|13,562|15,298|1,801|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|9,849|21,927|39|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|14,622|17,423|35|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1956|Republican|18,078|10,800|321|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1952|Republican|18,950|11,879|72|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|10,947|13,401|515|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1944|Republican|14,047|11,949|251|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|12,616|13,142|368|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|5,094|15,539|3,393|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|4,573|15,696|536|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|7,519|10,292|221|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1924|Progressive (Wisconsin)|4,828|1,599|9,918|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1920|Republican|8,378|2,018|3,183|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|4,224|4,338|529|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|2,389|3,436|1,855|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1908|Republican|4,126|3,952|1,013|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1904|Republican|4,626|3,274|783|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1900|Republican|4,317|4,167|238|Wisconsin}}

{{PresRow|1896|Republican|4,430|3,919|242|Wisconsin}}

{{PresFoot|1892|Democratic|2,249|4,349|87|Wisconsin}}

Manitowoc County is fairly competitive in presidential elections; in 2016, Donald Trump became the first candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson from his 1964 landslide to win more than 55% of the vote. He expanded his share to over 60% during the 2020 election, the first time since Dwight D. Eisenhower in his 1956 landslide that a Republican has hit 60% of the vote in the county. Statewide, Manitowoc County has voted Republican since the 2002 gubernatorial election.

• Kiel (partly in Calumet County)
• Manitowoc (county seat)
• Two Rivers

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• Cleveland
• Francis Creek
• Kellnersville
• Maribel
• Mishicot
• Reedsville
• St. Nazianz
• Valders
• Whitelaw

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Cato
• Centerville
• Cooperstown
• Eaton
• Franklin
• Gibson
• Kossuth
• Liberty
• Manitowoc
• Manitowoc Rapids
• Maple Grove
• Meeme
• Mishicot
• Newton
• Rockland
• Schleswig
• Two Creeks
• Two Rivers

{{div col end}}

• Collins

{{div col|colwidth=12em}}

• Alverno
• Branch
• Cato
• Cato Falls
• Clarks Mills
• Clover
• Cooperstown
• Duveneck
• Fisherville
• Grimms
• Hickory Grove
• Kellners Corners
• Kingsbridge
• Larrabee
• Louis Corners
• Madsen
• Maple Grove
• Meeme
• Meggers (partial)
• Melnik
• Menchalville
• Millhome
• Newton
• Newtonburg
• North Grimms
• Northeim
• Osman
• Reifs Mills
• Rockville
• Rockwood
• Rosecrans
• Rube
• School Hill
• Shoto
• Spring Valley
• Steinthal
• Taus
• Tisch Mills (partial)
• Two Creeks
• Wells (partial)
• Zander

{{div col end}}

{{CSS image crop|Image=ISS030-E-183960.jpg|bSize=2128|cWidth=505|cHeight=545|oTop=282|oLeft=440|Location=center|Description=The bright light on the lakeshore to the far left is the Point Beach Nuclear Plant. Taken at 3:09:47 A.M. CDT on March 28, 2012, from an altitude of {{convert|211|nmi|km}} during ISS Expedition 30.}}

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The Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer (2015) explores the arrests and trials in 2007 of Manitowoc County residents Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey for the murder of Teresa Halbach, who disappeared in October 2005. The series describes an earlier wrongful conviction of Avery, for which he served 18 years, and his subsequent lawsuit against Manitowoc County. It then focuses on the procedures of the Calumet County Sheriff's Office and the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, which investigated the later Halbach case. The Sheriffs officers have come under intense scrutiny for their involvement in the Halbach case due to Steven Avery's $36 million lawsuit and their questionable police and investigative techniques.[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/making-a-murderer-prosecutor-on-critics-questions.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article MONICA DAVEY, "Questioning the Evidence in the ‘Making a Murderer’ Case"], New York Times, January 29, 2016; accessed January 14, 2016{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/arts/television/review-making-a-murderer-true-crime-on-netflix.html?_r=0|title=Review: 'Making a Murderer,' True Crime on Netflix|last=Hale|first=Mike|date=December 16, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 20, 2015}}

In 2017, Charlie Berens created a comedic short-form video series called Manitowoc Minute, which features a fictitious news presenter character who exaggerates the culture and dialect of Wisconsin.{{Cite web |title=What Is the Manitowoc Minute? |url=https://manitowocminute.com/pages/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105161519/https://manitowocminute.com/pages/about |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |access-date=January 25, 2024}}{{Cite web |last=McCollum |first=Maureen |date=December 29, 2017 |title='Manitowoc Minute' Creator Charlie Berens Keeps 'Er Movin' |url=https://www.wpr.org/art/manitowoc-minute-creator-charlie-berens-keeps-er-movin |access-date=January 25, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR)}}

File:Manitowoc County Fairgrounds July 27 2012.jpg|Manitowoc County Expo Grounds

Image:ManitowocCountySignWIS57WIS32.jpg|Sign marking entrance to Manitowoc County in Kiel

File:ManitowocCountyJail.jpg|Manitowoc County Jail

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

• Falge, Louis (ed.). History of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1912. [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.FalgeHistv01 Vol. 1], [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.FalgeHistv02 Vol. 2]
• Langill, Ellen, Robin E. Butler, Rachel Young, and MaryBeth Matzek. Manitowoc County: A Beacon on the Lakeshore. Milwaukee, Wis.: Milwaukee Pub. Group, 1999.
• Plumb, Ralph Gordon. [http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wch/id/60842 A History of Manitowoc County]. Manitowoc, Wis.: Brant Print & Binding Co., 1904.
• Rapper, Joseph J. Story of a Century, 1848-1948: Manitowoc County During Wisconsin's First Hundred Years. Manitowoc, Wis.: Manitowoc County Centennial Committee, 1948.

• [https://manitowoccountywi.gov Official website]
• [http://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/manitowoc.pdf Manitowoc County map] from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

|North =

|Northeast = Kewaunee County

|East = Lake Michigan

|Southeast =

|South = Sheboygan County

|Southwest =

|West = Calumet County

|Northwest = Brown County

}}

{{Manitowoc County, Wisconsin}}

{{Wisconsin}}

{{coord|44.15|-87.55|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-WI_source:UScensus1990}}

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Category:Wisconsin counties

Category:1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory

Category:Populated places established in 1836