Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin's 16th largest lake) and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 15,169 at the 2000 census. The city is located within the Town of Beaver Dam. Local schools include Beaver Dam High School and the private Wayland Academy. The Beaver Dam High school's mascot is the Golden Beaver.

Geography

Beaver Dam is located at 43°27?35?N, 88°50?9?W (43.459967, -88.836066)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (20.43%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 15,169 people, 6,349 households, and 3,999 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,904.6 people per square mile (1,122.0/km²). There were 6,685 housing units at an average density of 1,280.1/sq mi (494.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.95% White, 0.44% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.61% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 4.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,349 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,873, and the median income for a family was $46,346. Males had a median income of $33,267 versus $23,513 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,592. About 4.5% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable citizens

• Bobby Hatfield, singer
• Pink Hawley, MLB baseball player
• Fred MacMurray, actor
• Zona Gale, writer
• Robert Kastenmeier, U.S. Representative
• Raymond Z. Gallun, writer
• Brian Donlevy, actor
• John Samuel Rowell, politician, agricultural inventor, and pioneer manufacturer
• Samuel D. Burchard, U.S. Representative
• Ric Flair, wrestler
• Delia Akeley, American explorer
• Fred McFarlane Ph.D., Director of the Interwork Institute at San Diego State University