Grundy County, Illinois | |
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.jpg) Grundy County Courthouse | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofIllinois | |
| Coordinates:41°17′N88°26′W / 41.29°N 88.43°W /41.29; -88.43 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Founded | February 17, 1841 |
| Named after | Felix Grundy |
| Seat | Morris |
| Largest city | Morris |
| Area | |
• Total | 430 sq mi (1,100 km2) |
| • Land | 418 sq mi (1,080 km2) |
| • Water | 12 sq mi (31 km2) 2.9% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 52,533 |
• Estimate (2024) | 53,835 [1] |
| • Density | 126/sq mi (48.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 16th |
| Website | www |
Grundy County is located in theU.S. state ofIllinois. According to the2020 census, it has a population of 52,533.[2] Itscounty seat isMorris.[3]Grundy County is part of theChicago metropolitan area.
In 2010, thecenter of population of Illinois was in Grundy County, just northeast of the village ofMazon.[4]
Illinois'sstate fossil, the unique and bizarreTully Monster, was first found inMazon Creek. Grundy County is home toDresden Generating Station—the first privately financed nuclear power plant built in the United States—and theMorris Operation—the only de facto high-levelradioactive waste storage site in the United States.
Grundy County was established on February 17, 1841. It was formed out ofLaSalle County and named after U.S. Attorney GeneralFelix Grundy.[5] The county was well known for its coal mines[6] and attracted miners from Pennsylvania and other regions to work its deposits. The1883 Diamond Mine Disaster occurred in Grundy County. The disaster took the lives of 69 men and boys who were trapped underground when water broke through into the mine after days of heavy rain and the pumps could not keep up with the rising water. 22 bodies were eventually recovered, the remaining 44 were left in the mine and the mine was sealed. Today a marker stands near where it was believed the majority of victims were entombed.[7]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 430 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 418 square miles (1,080 km2) is land and 12 square miles (31 km2) (2.9%) is water.[8]
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In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Morris 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 −24 °F (−31 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 103 °F (39 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.59 inches (40 mm) in February to 4.16 inches (106 mm) in June.[9]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 3,023 | — | |
| 1860 | 10,379 | 243.3% | |
| 1870 | 14,938 | 43.9% | |
| 1880 | 16,732 | 12.0% | |
| 1890 | 21,024 | 25.7% | |
| 1900 | 24,136 | 14.8% | |
| 1910 | 24,162 | 0.1% | |
| 1920 | 18,580 | −23.1% | |
| 1930 | 18,678 | 0.5% | |
| 1940 | 18,398 | −1.5% | |
| 1950 | 19,217 | 4.5% | |
| 1960 | 22,350 | 16.3% | |
| 1970 | 26,535 | 18.7% | |
| 1980 | 30,582 | 15.3% | |
| 1990 | 32,337 | 5.7% | |
| 2000 | 37,535 | 16.1% | |
| 2010 | 50,063 | 33.4% | |
| 2020 | 52,533 | 4.9% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 53,835 | [10] | 2.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010[15] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 52,533, a median age of 38.7 years, 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18, 15.2% were 65 years of age or older, there were 99.7 males for every 100 females, and there were 96.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.[16]
The racial makeup of the county was 85.9%White, 1.6%Black or African American, 0.4%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%Asian, less than 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 3.4% from some other race, and 7.8% fromtwo or more races;Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.9% of the population.[17]
Seventy-five percent of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.0% lived in rural areas.[18]
There were 20,038 households in the county, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 53.1% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 21.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 24.9% were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[16]
There were 21,174 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant, 73.5% of the occupied housing units were owner-occupied, and 26.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.[16]
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[19] | Pop 1990[20] | Pop 2000[21] | Pop 2010[22] | Pop 2020[23] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 29,838 | 31,433 | 35,502 | 44,526 | 43,472 | 97.57% | 97.20% | 94.58% | 88.94% | 82.75% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 41 | 15 | 67 | 577 | 833 | 0.13% | 0.05% | 0.18% | 1.15% | 1.59% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 35 | 35 | 81 | 68 | 48 | 0.11% | 0.11% | 0.22% | 0.14% | 0.09% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 108 | 105 | 112 | 318 | 466 | 0.35% | 0.32% | 0.30% | 0.64% | 0.89% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | x[24] | x[25] | 2 | 12 | 16 | x | x | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.03% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 49 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 122 | 0.16% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.23% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x[26] | x[27] | 216 | 441 | 1,864 | x | x | 0.58% | 0.88% | 3.55% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 511 | 748 | 1,552 | 4,096 | 5,712 | 1.67% | 2.31% | 4.13% | 8.18% | 10.87% |
| Total | 30,582 | 32,337 | 37,535 | 50,063 | 52,533 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2010 United States census, there were 50,063 people, 18,546 households, and 13,431 families residing in the county.[28] The population density was 119.8 inhabitants per square mile (46.3/km2). There were 19,996 housing units at an average density of 47.8 per square mile (18.5/km2).[8] The racial makeup of the county was 93.7% white, 1.2% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 2.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.2% of the population.[28] In terms of ancestry, 28.3% wereGerman, 23.0% wereIrish, 12.7% wereItalian, 9.4% werePolish, 8.6% wereEnglish, 7.1% wereNorwegian, and 3.0% wereAmerican.[29]
Of the 18,546 households, 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.6% were non-families, and 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age was 36.1 years.[28]
The median income for a household in the county was $64,297 and the median income for a family was $75,000. Males had a median income of $58,491 versus $36,592 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,895. About 5.2% of families and 6.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.[30]
Grundy County is divided into seventeentownships:
Grundy County is aRepublican stronghold. It has only strayed from voting for Republicans in any election a handful of times. The greatest Democratic margin occurred in1996, by less than four percent and off the back ofRoss Perot's third party candidacy. The county has not voted for a Democratic governor since1852. Between 1992 and 2012, the margins kept under ten percent, but the Republican favor has increased sinceDonald Trump.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 2,159 | 50.26% | 1,892 | 44.04% | 245 | 5.70% |
| 1896 | 3,246 | 59.68% | 2,074 | 38.13% | 119 | 2.19% |
| 1900 | 3,735 | 65.50% | 1,687 | 29.59% | 280 | 4.91% |
| 1904 | 3,448 | 69.73% | 841 | 17.01% | 656 | 13.27% |
| 1908 | 3,127 | 63.08% | 1,359 | 27.42% | 471 | 9.50% |
| 1912 | 1,919 | 36.41% | 1,172 | 22.24% | 2,179 | 41.35% |
| 1916 | 4,811 | 66.37% | 2,241 | 30.91% | 197 | 2.72% |
| 1920 | 4,647 | 80.05% | 803 | 13.83% | 355 | 6.12% |
| 1924 | 4,337 | 63.97% | 742 | 10.94% | 1,701 | 25.09% |
| 1928 | 5,126 | 61.54% | 3,174 | 38.11% | 29 | 0.35% |
| 1932 | 4,491 | 48.21% | 4,755 | 51.05% | 69 | 0.74% |
| 1936 | 5,360 | 52.63% | 4,481 | 44.00% | 344 | 3.38% |
| 1940 | 6,593 | 61.38% | 4,105 | 38.22% | 43 | 0.40% |
| 1944 | 6,310 | 63.89% | 3,544 | 35.88% | 22 | 0.22% |
| 1948 | 5,954 | 64.44% | 3,255 | 35.23% | 31 | 0.34% |
| 1952 | 7,347 | 70.12% | 3,118 | 29.76% | 13 | 0.12% |
| 1956 | 7,640 | 74.46% | 2,618 | 25.51% | 3 | 0.03% |
| 1960 | 6,948 | 61.88% | 4,276 | 38.08% | 4 | 0.04% |
| 1964 | 5,522 | 51.28% | 5,246 | 48.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 6,607 | 59.50% | 3,407 | 30.68% | 1,091 | 9.82% |
| 1972 | 8,725 | 70.70% | 3,584 | 29.04% | 32 | 0.26% |
| 1976 | 7,581 | 57.43% | 5,534 | 41.92% | 86 | 0.65% |
| 1980 | 8,397 | 63.59% | 3,970 | 30.07% | 837 | 6.34% |
| 1984 | 9,595 | 66.98% | 4,671 | 32.61% | 59 | 0.41% |
| 1988 | 8,743 | 60.88% | 5,525 | 38.47% | 93 | 0.65% |
| 1992 | 6,346 | 39.02% | 6,122 | 37.64% | 3,797 | 23.34% |
| 1996 | 6,177 | 41.45% | 6,759 | 45.36% | 1,966 | 13.19% |
| 2000 | 8,709 | 52.51% | 7,516 | 45.32% | 359 | 2.16% |
| 2004 | 11,198 | 56.47% | 8,463 | 42.68% | 170 | 0.86% |
| 2008 | 10,687 | 48.07% | 11,063 | 49.76% | 482 | 2.17% |
| 2012 | 11,343 | 53.22% | 9,451 | 44.34% | 519 | 2.44% |
| 2016 | 13,454 | 57.90% | 8,065 | 34.71% | 1,718 | 7.39% |
| 2020 | 16,523 | 61.75% | 9,626 | 35.98% | 607 | 2.27% |
| 2024 | 16,997 | 63.74% | 9,143 | 34.28% | 528 | 1.98% |
K-12 school districts include:[32]
Secondary school districts include:[32]
Elementary school districts include:[32]
Places adjacent to Grundy County, Illinois | |
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Municipalities and communities ofGrundy County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
