Vinton, Iowa - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,257 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,299 housing units, of which 2,187 were occupied.

The racial makeup of the city in the 2010 census was 97.8% White American

White American

White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 0.3% African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.2% Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.4% Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.0% Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...

or Pacific Islander American

Pacific Islander American

Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...

, 0.2% other races, and 1.2% were from two or more races. Of those 1.0% were Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

2000 census

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 5,102 people, 2,116 households, and 1,390 families residing in the city. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 1,187.7 people per square mile (458.1/km²). There were 2,227 housing units at an average density of 518.4 per square mile (200.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.26% White, 0.25% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.94% of the population.

There were 2,116 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,114, and the median income for a family was $41,546. Males had a median income of $32,460 versus $19,988 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the city was $19,808. About 9.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Popular culture

Movie appearance

Portions of downtown Vinton, along with the Benton County courthouse

Benton County Courthouse (Iowa)

The Benton County Courthouse, located in Vinton, Iowa, United States, was built in 1906. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource...

, were featured in the 1996 John Travolta

John Travolta

John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

film Michael
Michael (1996 film)
Michael is a 1996 American fantasy film directed by Nora Ephron and released in 1996. The film stars John Travolta as the Archangel Michael, who is sent to Earth to do various tasks, including mending some wounded hearts...

. Also seen during the movie's opening credits was Prairie Creek Church, a rural area Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

church located approximately six miles northeast of the city.

Education

Vinton is the home of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School

Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School

The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School is located in Vinton, Iowa. Students from all over Iowa are housed and educated there. Students must be legally blind to attend Iowa Braille. Students in special education are entitled to educational programming until age 21. Students may attend the school...

, Iowa's state educational institution for vision-impaired students.

Residing in the Braille School since 2008 is the North Central Region headquarters for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps

National Civilian Community Corps

National Civilian Community Corps , or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18– to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. National Civilian Community Corps teams complete about four different six- to eight-week-long projects during their...

(NCCC).

Notable people

James Lorraine Geddes
James Lorraine Geddes
James Lorraine Geddes was a soldier in India, a brigade commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, college administrator and professor, and military songwriter.-Biography:...

(1827–1887) A native of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

he moved to Vinton before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

where he joined as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

but rose in rank to Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

and later became Superintendent of the Iowa Institution for the Education of the Blind from 1867 to 1869.
Mary Ingalls
Mary Ingalls
Mary Amelia Ingalls was born near the town of Pepin, Wisconsin. She was the first child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls...

(1865–1928) was a student at the Iowa College for the Blind (now the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School
Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School
The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School is located in Vinton, Iowa. Students from all over Iowa are housed and educated there. Students must be legally blind to attend Iowa Braille. Students in special education are entitled to educational programming until age 21. Students may attend the school...

) in the early 1880s. The town is often mentioned in connection with the writings of her sister Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...

, author of Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie
Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
Cato Sells
Cato Sells
Cato Sells was the Commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1913 from 1921.-Biography:He was born in Vinton, Iowa, October 6, 1859. Losing his father at an early age he was obliged to provide for the family, attending public school winters. He entered Cornell College at sixteen,...

(1859–1948) The Commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

from 1913 from 1921 was born in Vinton.
Buren R. Sherman
Buren R. Sherman
Buren Robinson Sherman was the 12th Governor of Iowa, serving from 1882 to 1886.-Biography:Sherman was born in Phelps, Ontario County, New York on May 28, 1836....

(1836–1904) who would later become the 12^th governor of Iowa, was a resident of Vinton from 1863 to 1866, during which he served as county judge for Benton County. His gravesite is in Vinton, in Evergreen Cemetery.
Everett Warner
Everett Warner
Everett Longley Warner was an American Impressionist painter and printmaker, as well as a leading contributor to US Navy camouflage during both World Wars.-Early years:...

(1877–1963) was an artist born in Vinton who became a leading contributor to US naval camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

during both World Wars.

External links

City website
Community website
Vinton Today
Cedar Valley Daily Times
City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Vinton