county

Ford County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of Ford County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Ford County, IL is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county with a population of 13,396 and essentially flat population growth (0.0% over five years). The labor force participation rate stands at 61.2%, with 91.9% of residents holding a high school diploma or higher, though only 19.4% have a bachelor's degree or above, and median worker earnings are $40,945 against a median household income of $62,439. Housing costs are low—median home value of $118,100 and median gross rent of $836/month—with a 74.1% homeownership rate, while GDP per capita of $58,961 exceeds per capita income of $32,674, suggesting meaningful economic output relative to the county's small resident population.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

13,396

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$62,439

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.0% since 2018

Ford County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,111 (90.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races465 (3.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone402 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race298 (2.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone71 (0.5%)
  • Asian Alone55 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish339
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island61
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic37
  4. 4.Other Indo-European34
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic24

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

814

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$58,961

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,674

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,597
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)796
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)622
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services505
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities474

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,037
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,484
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,113
  4. 4.Service Occupations865
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations782

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.56×)449
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.64×)234
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.25×)839
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.12×)405
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.06×)1,531

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$118,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$836/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999718 (17.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999482 (11.4%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999383 (9.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999315 (7.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999312 (7.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999277 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,945

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,963 (79.5%)
  • Worked At Home574 (9.2%)
  • Carpooled527 (8.4%)
  • Walked126 (2.0%)
  • Other39 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit10 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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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.