county

Whiteside County, IL

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

AI Overview

Whiteside County is a small manufacturing-oriented county in northwestern Illinois with a population of 55,192 that has contracted 2.1% over five years and a median age of 43.0. The labor force participation rate stands at 62.2%, with 20.1% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $41,192. Housing costs are low—median home value of $125,800 and median gross rent of $808/month—against a median household income of $67,500, and a 76.9% homeownership rate reflects a stable, settled residential base.

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

Population

55,192

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$67,500

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.1% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone46,769 (85.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race3,516 (6.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,757 (3.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,714 (3.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone691 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone291 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,943
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic239
  3. 3.Other Indo-European156
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic150
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)142

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,468

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,878

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,788

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,299
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)5,398
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)3,201
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,719
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,679

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations8,603
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations6,321
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,756
  4. 4.Service Occupations4,112
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,369

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.95×)5,113
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.77×)747
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.19×)1,845
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.11×)3,179
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.07×)6,597

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$125,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$808/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,9992,783 (15.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,194 (12.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,915 (10.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,493 (8.4%)
  • $80,000 to $89,9991,423 (8.0%)
  • $90,000 to $99,9991,162 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,192

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone20,610 (80.8%)
  • Carpooled2,197 (8.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,555 (6.1%)
  • Walked681 (2.7%)
  • Bicycle227 (0.9%)
  • Other133 (0.5%)

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.