Adams County, Illinois

History

Adams County was formed in 1825 out of Pike County. Its name is in honor of the sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 871 square miles (2,260 km²), of which 855 square miles (2,210 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (1.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Quincy have ranged from a low of 16 °F (−9 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −21 °F (−29 °C) was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 2005. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.36 inches (35 mm) in January to 4.61 inches (117 mm) in May.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 67,103 people, 27,375 households, and 17,677 families residing in the county. The population density was 78.5 inhabitants per square mile (30.3/km²). There were 29,842 housing units at an average density of 34.9 per square mile (13.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.7% white, 3.5% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.5% were German, 13.1% were Irish, 10.7% were American, and 8.7% were English.

Of the 27,375 households, 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.4% were non-families, and 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 40.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,824 and the median income for a family was $55,791. Males had a median income of $38,830 versus $29,371 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,308. About 8.3% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Adams County, positioned in a primarily rural section of Illinois is culturally isolated from Chicago, and therefore is more conservative than the state's northeastern corner. Quincy, the county seat, holds a high number of social conservative catholics and likewise is the home to the campus of Quincy University, a private catholic liberal arts college, and the Western Catholic Union.

Adams County traditionally favors Republicans for federal and statewide elected office. 1964 was the most recent year that the county voted for a Democrat for President of the United States (Lyndon Johnson), and 1948 was the most recent year that the county supported a Democrat for Governor of Illinois (Adlai Stevenson). The county is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Republican Darin LaHood.

Presidential Election Results (Adams County, IL):1928–present (U.S. winner is represented by (W), IL winner is represented by (I)), Adams County winner is represented by italicized number of votes received in the county

Unified school districts

Private schools

Colleges and universities

City

Townships

Adams County is divided into twenty-three townships: