county

Bureau County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of Bureau County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Bureau County is a small rural Illinois county of 33,027 residents with a high school attainment rate of 91.0% but a relatively low bachelor's degree rate of 21.4%, pointing to a workforce oriented toward skilled trades and manual occupations rather than professional services. The labor force participation rate stands at 62.5% with a 5.0% unemployment rate, and median worker earnings of $37,179 align closely with a median household income of $69,257 and GDP per capita of $36,451. Housing costs are low—median home value of $121,900 and median gross rent of $838/month—though the county's population has contracted by 1.1% over five years and the median age of 44.1 reflects an older resident base.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

33,027

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$69,257

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.1% since 2018

Bureau County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone28,743 (87.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,545 (4.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,464 (4.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races623 (1.9%)
  • Asian Alone287 (0.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone193 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,483
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic271
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)113
  4. 4.Other Indo-European97
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island75

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,632

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,451

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,625

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,521
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,449
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,427
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,234
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,190

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,835
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,650
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,128
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,905
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,638

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.85×)983
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.52×)2,421
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.43×)528
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.36×)2,376
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.32×)1,238

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$121,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$838/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,9991,318 (12.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,178 (11.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,135 (10.6%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999905 (8.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999871 (8.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999613 (5.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,179

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone12,665 (80.0%)
  • Carpooled1,683 (10.6%)
  • Worked At Home861 (5.4%)
  • Walked390 (2.5%)
  • Bicycle116 (0.7%)
  • Other55 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.