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 Metropolitan 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.

Geography According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to 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

Interstate 57 US Route 24 US Route 45 Illinois Route 9 Illinois Route 47 Illinois Route 54 Illinois Route 115 Illinois Route 116

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,534. The median age was 42.9 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 92.0% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population.

33.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 66.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,638 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.3% were married-couple households, 18.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 6,265 housing units, of which 10.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.6% were owner-occupied and 26.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.6%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Ford County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)15,06914,09613,88513,52012,26598.72%98.75%97.50%96.02%90.62%Black or African American alone (NH)58423578750.38%0.29%0.25%0.55%0.55%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4121432240.03%0.08%0.10%0.23%0.18%Asian alone (NH)32404636570.21%0.28%0.32%0.26%0.42%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census000xx0.00%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)244511420.16%0.03%0.04%0.08%0.31%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census80110517xx0.56%0.78%3.82%Hispanic or Latino (any race)78811762945540.51%0.57%1.24%2.09%4.09%Total15,26514,27514,24114,08113,534 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census 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 . There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of . 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

Cities Gibson City Paxton

Villages

Cabery Elliott Kempton Melvin Piper City Roberts Sibley

Unincorporated communities Clarence Guthrie Perdueville Stelle

Extinct settlements Ten Mile Grove

Townships

Brenton Button Dix Drummer Lyman Mona Patton Peach Orchard Pella Rogers Sullivant Wall

Politics Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nominee William Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes.

After the Libertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission. This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.

President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.Welcome to Paxton , accessed February 15, 2011.

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Ford County, Illinois

References

United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS) United States National Atlas

External links History of Ford County - Information from Centurama Celebrating The First 100 Years of Ford County, Illinois 1859-1959