Milwaukee, Wisconsin (original) (raw)

"Milwaukee" redirects here. There is also Milwaukee, North Carolina.

Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin, United States and the county seat of Milwaukee County. The city's population is 596,974 with a total of 1,500,741 in the consolidated metropolitan area (2000). The city is located in the southeastern portion of the state on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

History

Picturesque Milwaukee
Famous sites, 1880s

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago Indian tribes. Milwaukee received its name from the Indian word Millioke. French missionaries and traders passed through the area in the late

1600s and 1700s. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area. Juneau bought out his father-in-law's trading business, and in 1833 he founded a town on the east side of the Milwaukee River. In 1846, Juneau's town combined with neighboring rival towns to incorporate the city of Milwaukee. Juneau was Milwaukee's first mayor. German immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades. Milwaukee still today has a large German-American population.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 251.0 km² (96.9 mi²). 248.8 km² (96.1 mi²) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.88% water.

Demographics

As of the census1 of 2000, there are 596,974 people, 232,188 households, and 135,133 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,399.5/km² (6,214.3/mi²). There are 249,225 housing units at an average density of 1,001.7/km² (2,594.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 49.98% White, 37.34% African American, 0.87% Native American, 2.94% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.10% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. 12.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 232,188 households out of which 30.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% are married couples living together, 21.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% are non-families. 33.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.50 and the average family size is 3.25.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is 32,216,andthemedianincomeforafamilyis32,216, and the median income for a family is 32,216,andthemedianincomeforafamilyis37,879. Males have a median income of 32,244versus32,244 versus 32,244versus26,013 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,181. 21.3% of the population and 17.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 31.6% are under the age of 18 and 11.0% are 65 or older.

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