county

Wayne County, IL

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, IL is a rural county of about 16,000 residents with a labor force participation rate of 56.8% and a low unemployment rate of 3.3%, though only 16.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median worker earnings stand at $37,426 against a median household income of $55,521, and housing costs are low, with a median home value of $109,400 and median gross rent of $632 per month. The county has shed roughly 3% of its population over the past five years, and a median age of 42.8 reflects an older workforce base.

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

Population

15,994

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$55,521

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,199 (95.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races309 (1.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone209 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone97 (0.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone64 (0.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race51 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic558
  2. 2.Spanish236
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)23
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)12
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

816

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$29,573

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,073

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,785
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,074
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)943
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining768
  5. 5.Construction (Group)455

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,115
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,426
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,369
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,145
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,126

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.58×)625
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.47×)605
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.39×)967
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.25×)952
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.18×)1,930

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$109,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$632/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999675 (12.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999602 (11.2%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999406 (7.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999404 (7.5%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999347 (6.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999338 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,426

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,728 (80.9%)
  • Carpooled716 (10.1%)
  • Worked At Home498 (7.0%)
  • Walked70 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit32 (0.5%)
  • Other26 (0.4%)

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.