county

Jackson County, IL

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

AI Overview

Jackson County's economy is anchored by its identity as a college community — home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale — reflected in a median age of 32.4 years, a 35.1% bachelor's degree attainment rate, and a relatively low unemployment-adjusted labor force participation rate of 56.7%. The workforce of roughly 52,700 residents earns a median of $28,575, with median household income at $48,763 and housing costs well below national norms at a $125,000 median home value and $746 monthly median rent. The county has shed 10% of its population over five years, and a 21.8% poverty rate alongside 7.2% unemployment point to structural labor market softness tied closely to enrollment and institutional cycles.

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

Population

52,706

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$48,763

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-10.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone38,642 (72.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone7,422 (14.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,367 (4.5%)
  • Asian Alone1,970 (3.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,671 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race924 (1.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,904
  2. 2.Other Indo-European871
  3. 3.Arabic493
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic485
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)275

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

64.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,159

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$49,726

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,227

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance8,126
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)3,159
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,202
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,690
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)1,671

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations9,588
  2. 2.Service Occupations4,480
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,466
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,543
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,013

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.50×)8,082
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.24×)3,108
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.10×)2,215
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.03×)1,125
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.01×)371

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$125,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$746/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

50.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,152 (10.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,130 (9.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,062 (9.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999814 (7.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999780 (6.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999776 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$28,575

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

11.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone15,796 (72.5%)
  • Worked At Home2,347 (10.8%)
  • Carpooled1,865 (8.6%)
  • Walked1,117 (5.1%)
  • Bicycle211 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit162 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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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.