county

Hancock County, IL

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

AI Overview

Hancock County is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county in western Illinois with a population of 17,434 that has contracted 3.7% over five years and a median age of 46.9 years. The labor force is modest—60.0% participation rate, 4.4% unemployment—with 24.2% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $40,273. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $108,400 and median gross rent of $755/month, and an 81.3% homeownership rate reflects the county's predominantly settled, owner-occupant character.

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

Population

17,434

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$65,865

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,283 (94.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race321 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races265 (1.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone184 (1.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone128 (0.7%)
  • Asian Alone62 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish243
  2. 2.Other Indo-European54
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic35
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)19
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

962

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,841

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$36,671

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,814
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,217
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,030
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining684
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services462

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,812
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,643
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,457
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,099
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations887

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.36×)692
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.78×)333
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.45×)1,170
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.24×)1,092
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.13×)432

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$108,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$755/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999913 (14.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999563 (9.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999442 (7.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999439 (7.1%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999435 (7.0%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999409 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,273

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,588 (84.7%)
  • Worked At Home586 (7.5%)
  • Carpooled371 (4.8%)
  • Walked163 (2.1%)
  • Other30 (0.4%)
  • Bicycle13 (0.2%)

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.