Ford County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ford County
U.S. county
Ford County Courthouse in Paxton
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	February 17, 1859
Named for	Thomas Ford
Seat	Paxton
Largest city	Paxton
Area
• Total	486 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Land	486 sq mi (1,260 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,534
• Estimate  (2023)	13,250
• Density	27.848/sq mi (10.752/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	2nd, 16th

Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 13,534. Its county seat is Paxton. Ford County was part of the Champaign–Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area until 2018, when the Office of Management and Budget removed the county from the area.

History

Ford County was formed February 17, 1859, making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they lived too far from the county seat. Ford County was named after Thomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.

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  The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois's current county map.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 486 square miles (1,260 km²), of which 486 square miles (1,260 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.1%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.40 inches (36 mm) in February to 4.38 inches (111 mm) in May.

Adjacent counties

• Kankakee County – north
• Iroquois County – east
• Vermilion County – southeast
• Champaign County – south
• McLean County – southwest
• Livingston County – west

Transit

• SHOW Bus

Major highways

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Ford County

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,081 people, 5,676 households, and 3,798 families living in the county. The population density was 29.0 inhabitants per square mile (11.2/km²). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 12.9 per square mile (5.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 35.7% were German, 15.5% were Irish, 13.6% were American, and 10.4% were English.

Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,667 and the median income for a family was $62,819. Males had a median income of $43,849 versus $30,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,401. About 5.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Ford County

Cities

• Gibson City
• Paxton

Villages

Unincorporated communities

• Clarence
• Guthrie
• Perdueville
• Stelle

Extinct settlements

• Ten Mile Grove

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Ford (Illinois) para niños