DeKalb County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids DeKalb County
U.S. county
DeKalb County Court House, Sycamore, Illinois
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	March 4, 1837
Named for	Johann de Kalb
Seat	Sycamore
Largest city	DeKalb
Area
• Total	635 sq mi (1,640 km2)
• Land	631 sq mi (1,630 km2)
• Water	3.4 sq mi (9 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	100,420
• Estimate  (2023)	100,288
• Density	158.14/sq mi (61.06/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	11th, 14th, 16th

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

DeKalb County was formed on March 4, 1837, out of Kane County, Illinois. The county was named for Johann de Kalb, a German (Bavarian) hero of the American Revolutionary War. DeKalb County's area is approximately 632.7 square miles, and it is located 63 miles west of Chicago. There are 19 townships in the county; the county seat is Sycamore.

Between 1834 and 1837, after the Potawatomi people had been pushed out, European Americans formed settlements in DeKalb County along streams and wooded areas due to fertile soil, wild game, and food and water opportunities. Primary growth stemmed from the introduction of the railroad, which brought easier methods of transportation and opportunities for industrial growth. Early industries based in DeKalb County included Sandwich Mfg. Co, Marsh Harvester Co, barbed wire, and Gurler Bros Pure Milk Co.

The county is noted for agriculture. In 1852, the DeKalb Agricultural Society produced the county's first Agricultural Fair, in Sycamore. Eventually farmers, businessmen, bankers and newspapermen organized to become the DeKalb County Soil Improvement Association, which later was split into DeKalb County Farm Bureau and DeKalb Agricultural Association (DEKALB AgResearch, Inc., Monsanto). DeKalb County is credited with being the birthplace of the Farm Bureau movement. DeKalb County is the 2nd largest hog producing county in Illinois and the 66th largest in the nation.

Education has played an important role in the area: Northern Illinois University is located in DeKalb and Kishwaukee College is located in Malta. Except for 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), a major fair has been held each year since 1887 at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich.

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  DeKalb County at the time of its creation in 1837

Pronunciation

Unlike similarly spelled locations, such as DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb denizens from Illinois pronounce the county name /dɪˈkælb/ di-KALB, with an L sound, as in German, after its namesake.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 635 square miles (1,640 km²), of which 631 square miles (1,630 km²) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Sycamore have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.49 inches (114 mm) in June.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Transit

• DeKalb Public Transit

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for DeKalb County with a marked spike in college-aged individuals due to Northern Illinois University

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 105,160 people, 38,484 households, and 23,781 families residing in the county. The population density was 166.6 inhabitants per square mile (64.3/km²). There were 41,079 housing units at an average density of 65.1 per square mile (25.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.1% white, 6.4% black or African American, 2.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 3.9% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.6% were German, 17.5% were Irish, 8.7% were English, 7.0% were Polish, 6.4% were Italian, 6.3% were Swedish, and 4.7% were Norwegian.

Of the 38,484 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.2% were non-families, and 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 29.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $54,002 and the median income for a family was $70,713. Males had a median income of $50,192 versus $35,246 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,179. About 7.7% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Town

• Cortland

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Education

Tertiary

Northern Illinois University is in the county.

K-12

The following school districts have territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if their schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties:

K-12:

• Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100
• Central Community Unit School District 301
• Community Unit School District 300
• DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
• Earlville Community Unit School District 9
• Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424
• Hinckley-Big Rock Community Unit School District 429
• Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426
• Indian Creek Community Unit District 425
• Kaneland Community Unit School District 302
• Lee Center Community Unit School District 271
• Leland Community Unit School District 1
• Sandwich Community Unit School District 430
• Somonauk Community Unit School District 432
• Sycamore Community Unit School District 427

Secondary:

• Rochelle Township High School District 212

Elementary:

• Creston Community Consolidated School District 161
• Eswood Community Consolidated District 269
• Steward Elementary School District 220

See also

In Spanish: Condado de DeKalb (Illinois) para niños