Cedar County is located between the Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities and Iowa City metropolitan areas, areas also known as the "Tri-Metro" county.

Cedar County was the focus of the Iowa Cow War of 1931.

In 1840, the City of Tipton, the current county seat, was established.

Before the Civil War, the area around West Branch was an active focal point of the Underground Railroad, a network for the freeing of slaves from the southern states.

The former US President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was born in West Branch in Cedar County.

[12] As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 18,187 people, 7,147 households, and 5,138 families residing in the county.

The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races.

23.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.