Peoria County, Illinois

Updated on Oct 05, 2024

Edit

Comment

Founded 1825 Largest city Peoria Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Area 1,634 km² County seat Peoria		Named for Peoria tribe Congressional districts 17th, 18th Website www.co.peoria.il.us Population 188,429 (2013) Unemployment rate 5.7% (Apr 2015)

Rivers Illinois River, Spoon River Colleges and Universities Bradley University, Midstate College, Saint Francis Medical, Tricoci University of Beauty, Methodist College Points of interest Peoria Riverfront Museum, Wildlife Prairie Park, George L Luthy Memorial, Peoria Zoo, Par‑A‑Dice Hotel and Casino

Peoria County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 186,494. Its county seat is Peoria.

Map of Peoria County, IL, USA

Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 631 square miles (1,630 km²), of which 619 square miles (1,600 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.8%) is water. The county is drained by Spoon River, Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, and Copperas Creek.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Peoria have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.50 inches (38 mm) in January to 4.17 inches (106 mm) in May.

Adjacent counties

Stark County - north

Marshall County - northeast

Woodford County - east

Tazewell County - south

Fulton County - southwest

Knox County - northwest

Defunct highways

Illinois Route 174

Illinois Route 175

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in the county:

General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), formerly Greater Peoria Regional Airport - Peoria, Illinois

Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport (3MY) - Peoria, Illinois

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 186,494 people, 75,793 households, and 47,248 families residing in the county. The population density was 301.2 inhabitants per square mile (116.3/km²). There were 83,034 housing units at an average density of 134.1 per square mile (51.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.4% white, 17.7% black or African American, 3.1% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.3% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 5.5% were American.

Of the 75,793 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 36.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,747 and the median income for a family was $63,163. Males had a median income of $51,246 versus $32,881 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,157. About 10.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.