Coles County, IL
Demographic and economic profile of Coles County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.
AI Overview
Coles County's economy centers on education and public-sector services, anchored by Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, with a labor force of roughly 29,000 workers earning median wages of $34,478 against low occupancy costs—median home values of $121,900 and rents of $793/month. The county's 27.1% bachelor's attainment rate reflects its university presence, though a 6.8% unemployment rate and 62.5% labor force participation point to structural underemployment. A 9.8% population decline over five years and an 18.4% poverty rate signal ongoing demographic contraction, even as GDP per capita of $57,203 runs notably above median household income.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page
Population Growth (5-year)
-9.8% since 2018
Coles County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.
Demographics
Race & Ethnicity
- White Alone41,961 (89.7%)
- Black or African American Alone1,670 (3.6%)
- Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,192 (2.5%)
- Two Races Including Some Other Race727 (1.6%)
- Asian Alone624 (1.3%)
- Some Other Race Alone580 (1.2%)
Top Languages Spoken at Home
- 1.Spanish715
- 2.German or other West Germanic385
- 3.Other Indo-European203
- 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)92
- 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island75
Economy
Cost of Living Index
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Not yet cached
Top Industries
- 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,645
- 2.Retail Trade (Group)2,859
- 3.Manufacturing (Group)2,627
- 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,055
- 5.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)1,635
Top Occupations
- 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,782
- 2.Service Occupations4,571
- 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,360
- 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,748
- 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,875
Housing
Education
Workforce
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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.