county

Jersey County, IL

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

AI Overview

Jersey County is a small rural Illinois county of 21,336 residents with an older median age of 43.7 years, a labor force participation rate of 59.4%, and a relatively modest educational attainment profile—only 20.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 93.7% have a high school diploma. Median household income stands at $80,361 against median worker earnings of $43,788, with housing costs remaining low: median home value of $168,800 and median gross rent of $794/month, alongside an 80.5% homeownership rate. The county has seen a population decline of 3.3% over five years, an unemployment rate of 4.4%, and a GDP per capita of $24,137, pointing to a cost-accessible but contracting local economy.

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

Population

21,336

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$80,361

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,197 (94.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races477 (2.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race247 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone143 (0.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone118 (0.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone65 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish177
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic52
  3. 3.Korean33
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)23
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)17

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,485

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$24,137

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,238

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,598
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,192
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)928
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services908
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services885

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,806
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,983
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,838
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,625
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,091

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.75×)439
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.44×)679
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.29×)754
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.24×)1,232
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.14×)790

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$168,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$794/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999803 (12.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999670 (10.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999646 (10.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999630 (9.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999580 (9.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999547 (8.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$43,788

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,472 (74.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,171 (11.7%)
  • Carpooled934 (9.3%)
  • Walked306 (3.1%)
  • Other64 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit29 (0.3%)

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.