Knox County, Illinois | |
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_1981.jpg) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIllinois | |
 Illinois's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:40°56′N90°13′W / 40.93°N 90.21°W /40.93; -90.21 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Founded | 1825 |
| Named after | Henry Knox |
| Seat | Galesburg |
| Largest city | Galesburg |
| Government | |
| • Board Chairman | Jared Hawkinson |
| Area | |
• Total | 720 sq mi (1,900 km2) |
| • Land | 716 sq mi (1,850 km2) |
| • Water | 3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2) 0.5% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 49,967 |
• Estimate (2024) | 48,716 [1] |
| • Density | 69.8/sq mi (26.9/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 17th |
| Website | knoxcountyil |
Knox County is acounty in theU.S. state ofIllinois. According to the2020 census, it had a population of 49,967.[2] Itscounty seat isGalesburg.[3] Knox County comprises the Galesburg, ILMicropolitan Statistical Area.
Knox County was named in honor ofHenry Knox, the firstUS Secretary of War.[4]
The first "Knox County" in what today is Illinois was unrelated to the modern incarnation. In 1790, the land of the Indiana Territory that was to become Illinois was divided into two counties:St. Clair and Knox. The latter included land in what was to becomeIndiana. WhenKnox County,Indiana, was formed from this portion of the county in 1809, the Illinois portions were subdivided into counties that were given other names.
The modern Knox County, Illinois, was organized in 1825, fromFulton County, itself a portion of the original St. Clair County.
Like its neighbor to the south, Fulton County, for its Spoon River Drive, Knox County is also known for a similar scenic drive fall festival the first two weekends in October, the Knox County Drive.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 720 square miles (1,900 km2), of which 716 square miles (1,850 km2) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) (0.5%) is water.[5]
| Galesburg, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Galesburg have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °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 1982 and a record high of 102 °F (39 °C) was recorded in July 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.41 inches (36 mm) in January to 4.37 inches (111 mm) in July.[6]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 274 | — | |
| 1840 | 7,060 | 2,476.6% | |
| 1850 | 13,279 | 88.1% | |
| 1860 | 28,663 | 115.9% | |
| 1870 | 39,522 | 37.9% | |
| 1880 | 38,344 | −3.0% | |
| 1890 | 38,752 | 1.1% | |
| 1900 | 43,612 | 12.5% | |
| 1910 | 46,159 | 5.8% | |
| 1920 | 46,727 | 1.2% | |
| 1930 | 51,336 | 9.9% | |
| 1940 | 52,250 | 1.8% | |
| 1950 | 54,366 | 4.0% | |
| 1960 | 61,280 | 12.7% | |
| 1970 | 61,280 | 0.0% | |
| 1980 | 61,607 | 0.5% | |
| 1990 | 56,393 | −8.5% | |
| 2000 | 55,836 | −1.0% | |
| 2010 | 52,919 | −5.2% | |
| 2020 | 49,967 | −5.6% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 48,716 | [7] | −2.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2013[2] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[12] | Pop 1990[13] | Pop 2000[14] | Pop 2010[15] | Pop 2020[16] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 58,025 | 51,744 | 49,355 | 45,132 | 39,615 | 94.19% | 91.76% | 88.39% | 85.29% | 79.28% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,987 | 2,804 | 3,472 | 3,741 | 4,354 | 3.23% | 4.97% | 6.22% | 7.07% | 8.71% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 66 | 82 | 83 | 75 | 73 | 0.11% | 0.15% | 0.15% | 0.14% | 0.15% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 201 | 319 | 382 | 331 | 361 | 0.33% | 0.57% | 0.68% | 0.63% | 0.72% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | x[17] | x[18] | 8 | 7 | 12 | x | x | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 86 | 28 | 36 | 44 | 207 | 0.14% | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.41% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x[19] | x[20] | 604 | 1,031 | 2,294 | x | x | 1.08% | 1.95% | 4.59% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,242 | 1,416 | 1,896 | 2,558 | 3,051 | 2.02% | 2.51% | 3.40% | 4.83% | 6.11% |
| Total | 61,607 | 56,393 | 55,836 | 52,919 | 49,967 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2010 United States census, there were 52,919 people, 21,535 households, and 13,324 families residing in the county.[21] The population density was 73.9 inhabitants per square mile (28.5/km2). There were 24,077 housing units at an average density of 33.6 per square mile (13.0/km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 87.5% white, 7.2% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.9% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.8% of the population.[21] In terms of ancestry, 23.1% wereGerman, 14.9% wereIrish, 11.7% wereEnglish, 11.6% wereSwedish, and 8.0% wereAmerican.[22]
Of the 21,535 households, 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.1% were non-families, and 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 42.0 years.[21]
The median income for a household in the county was $39,545 and the median income for a family was $51,740. Males had a median income of $42,067 versus $25,380 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,908. About 10.9% of families and 15.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.[23]
Knox County is divided into twenty-onetownships:
Knox County's political history is typical ofYankee-settled Northern Illinois. It leanedWhig during its early elections – although giving a plurality toFranklin Pierce in 1852 – and become powerfully Republican following that party's formation. Although Knox did supportProgressiveTheodore Roosevelt against conservative incumbent PresidentWilliam Howard Taft in 1912, it wasFranklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 landslide before Knox County again gave the Democratic Party so much as a plurality, and it did not give a Democratic absolute majority untilLyndon B. Johnson gained such against the anti-Yankee, Southern-leaningBarry Goldwater in 1964.
Since then, Knox County gradually trended Democratic for the following four decades, so thatMichael Dukakis in his losing 1988 campaign was able to carry the county by the same margin as Johnson had done in 1964. During the 1990s and 2000s, Knox was a solidly Democratic county, voting Democratic by at least nine percentage points in every election from 1992 to 2012. The 2016 election, in the shadow of high unemployment in the “Rust Belt” saw a swing of over twenty percentage points toDonald Trump, who became the first Republican victor in the county sinceRonald Reagan in 1984.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 5,800 | 60.49% | 3,073 | 32.05% | 715 | 7.46% |
| 1896 | 7,681 | 67.39% | 3,480 | 30.53% | 236 | 2.07% |
| 1900 | 7,810 | 67.62% | 3,299 | 28.57% | 440 | 3.81% |
| 1904 | 7,566 | 73.84% | 1,849 | 18.04% | 832 | 8.12% |
| 1908 | 7,084 | 63.83% | 3,277 | 29.53% | 737 | 6.64% |
| 1912 | 1,750 | 16.72% | 2,758 | 26.35% | 5,959 | 56.93% |
| 1916 | 10,918 | 58.82% | 6,785 | 36.55% | 860 | 4.63% |
| 1920 | 12,559 | 73.85% | 2,852 | 16.77% | 1,594 | 9.37% |
| 1924 | 12,968 | 65.89% | 2,617 | 13.30% | 4,095 | 20.81% |
| 1928 | 16,151 | 72.33% | 5,993 | 26.84% | 186 | 0.83% |
| 1932 | 12,244 | 49.14% | 12,282 | 49.29% | 392 | 1.57% |
| 1936 | 14,712 | 50.52% | 13,697 | 47.03% | 715 | 2.46% |
| 1940 | 17,459 | 57.77% | 12,597 | 41.68% | 168 | 0.56% |
| 1944 | 15,964 | 61.02% | 10,070 | 38.49% | 126 | 0.48% |
| 1948 | 15,016 | 60.18% | 9,772 | 39.16% | 164 | 0.66% |
| 1952 | 18,569 | 64.16% | 10,354 | 35.78% | 17 | 0.06% |
| 1956 | 18,656 | 66.04% | 9,558 | 33.83% | 37 | 0.13% |
| 1960 | 17,938 | 60.09% | 11,889 | 39.83% | 23 | 0.08% |
| 1964 | 12,850 | 46.14% | 15,000 | 53.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 14,216 | 53.86% | 9,707 | 36.77% | 2,473 | 9.37% |
| 1972 | 17,315 | 64.69% | 9,333 | 34.87% | 118 | 0.44% |
| 1976 | 14,123 | 54.39% | 11,525 | 44.38% | 319 | 1.23% |
| 1980 | 14,907 | 56.90% | 8,749 | 33.40% | 2,542 | 9.70% |
| 1984 | 14,974 | 55.21% | 12,027 | 44.34% | 121 | 0.45% |
| 1988 | 10,842 | 45.75% | 12,752 | 53.81% | 106 | 0.45% |
| 1992 | 8,331 | 32.93% | 12,524 | 49.51% | 4,441 | 17.56% |
| 1996 | 7,822 | 34.69% | 12,487 | 55.38% | 2,239 | 9.93% |
| 2000 | 9,912 | 42.77% | 12,572 | 54.25% | 690 | 2.98% |
| 2004 | 11,111 | 44.97% | 13,403 | 54.25% | 194 | 0.79% |
| 2008 | 9,419 | 39.09% | 14,191 | 58.89% | 488 | 2.03% |
| 2012 | 9,408 | 40.28% | 13,451 | 57.59% | 497 | 2.13% |
| 2016 | 10,737 | 47.71% | 10,083 | 44.81% | 1,683 | 7.48% |
| 2020 | 12,009 | 51.75% | 10,703 | 46.12% | 496 | 2.14% |
| 2024 | 11,917 | 53.45% | 9,838 | 44.13% | 540 | 2.42% |
Places adjacent to Knox County, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofKnox County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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