Albemarle County is a county located in the the Commonwealth of Virginia. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2005 population of 92,035. Its county seat is Charlottesville.
History
In 1744, the Virginia General Assembly created Albemarle County by taking the northern portion of Goochland County. The county was named in honor of Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and titular Governor of Virginia at the time. The large county was divided in 1761, forming Buckingham and Amherst counties, at which time the county seat was moved from the formerly-central Scottsville to a piece of newly-central land, christened Charlottesville.
President Thomas Jefferson was born in the county at Shadwell, though it was then part of Goochland County. His home of Monticello is located in the county, however.
Government
Albemarle is governed by a six-member Board of Supervisors, whose key political issue is growth and whose composition recently shifted, with the 2007 election of Ann Mallek, from a 3-3 split on issue to a 4-2 majority for growth opponents.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,881 km©÷), of which, 723 square miles (1,872 km©÷) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km©÷) of it (0.49%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- In addition, the city of Charlottesville is enclaved within Albemarle County. Under Virginia law in effect since 1871, all municipalities in the state incorporated as cities are legally and politically independent of any county.
See also: List of counties in Virginia
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile (42/km©÷). There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km©÷). The racial makeup of the county was 85.16% White, 9.65% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.86% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. 2.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 31,876 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,749, and the median income for a family was $63,407. Males had a median income of $39,622 versus $30,645 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,852. About 4.20% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 4.70% of those age 65 or over.
Towns
The only town in Albemarle County is Scottsville, the original county seat. There are other points in the county colloquially identified as towns, but they are unincorporated, and have no legal status as such. Those include Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Ivy, Keene and Keswick, among many smaller hamlets.
External links
Trivia
As an independent city, Charlottesville is not part of Albemarle County, despite its status as the county seat.
Coordinates: 
38¡Æ02¡ÇN 78¡Æ34¡ÇW / 38.03, -78.56
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