Belle Plaine, Iowa

Belle Plaine, Iowa
—  City  —
Location of Belle Plaine, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°53′48″N 92°16′39″W / 41.89667°N 92.2775°W / 41.89667; -92.2775Coordinates: 41°53′48″N 92°16′39″W / 41.89667°N 92.2775°W / 41.89667; -92.2775
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Benton
Area
– Total	3.2 sq mi (8.4 km2)
– Land	3.2 sq mi (8.4 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	827 ft (252 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	2,878
– Density	890.6/sq mi (343.9/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	52208
Area code(s)	319
FIPS code	19-05590
GNIS feature ID	0454495

Belle Plaine is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,878 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Belle Plaine is located on both the historic Lincoln Highway and the cross country tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Belle Plaine area was hard hit by the February 24, 2007 ice storm with power outages.

Geography

Belle Plaine is located at 41°53′48″N 92°16′39″W / 41.89667°N 92.2775°W / 41.89667; -92.2775 (41.896639, -92.277496).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) of it is land and 0.31% is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 2,878 people, 1,212 households, and 749 families residing in the city. The population density was 890.6 people per square mile (344.0/km²). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 407.9 per square mile (157.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.92% White, 0.07% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 1,212 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,316, and the median income for a family was $47,105. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $24,966 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,321. About 3.3% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The mayor of Belle Plaine is Jim Daily. The City Manager is Bill Daily. Kaye Buch is the City Clerk. Kyle Spading is the Park and Rec Director. Kris Hudson is the Police Chief. Russ Spading is the Fire Chief.

Notable people

• Earl Moran, 20th Century pin-up and glamour artist was born in Belle Plaine in 1893.
• Hap Moran, New York Giants football star, was born in Belle Plaine in 1901.
• Lonnie Nielsen, professional golfer, was born in Belle Plaine in 1953.

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

Iowa portal

• Official City Website
• City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Belle Plaine