county

Winnebago County, IL

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

AI Overview

Winnebago County, IL is a mid-sized manufacturing-oriented metro with a population of 283,790 and a GDP per capita of $50,424, noticeably above median worker earnings of $39,644, suggesting capital-intensive industrial activity. The labor force of roughly 175,000 skews toward trade and production credentials rather than four-year degrees, with only 24.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 7.2% indicates slack in available workers. Housing costs are low relative to national benchmarks — median home value of $155,100 and median gross rent of $986/month — though a 16.0% poverty rate and a -1.0% five-year population decline point to ongoing economic headwinds.

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

Population

283,790

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$65,837

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone188,087 (66.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone34,098 (12.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race18,435 (6.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone17,280 (6.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races15,145 (5.3%)
  • Asian Alone8,280 (2.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish26,220
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic2,243
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island2,071
  4. 4.Other Indo-European1,977
  5. 5.Arabic1,349

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

13,120

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$50,424

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,775

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance28,549
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)24,175
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)15,581
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services10,940
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services10,612

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations43,875
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations26,604
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations26,394
  4. 4.Service Occupations20,318
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations11,081

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.97×)25,276
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.18×)8,868
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.11×)15,587
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.10×)3,268
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.05×)6,348

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$155,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$986/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,99912,089 (15.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9999,154 (12.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9998,533 (11.2%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9997,179 (9.4%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9997,108 (9.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9995,909 (7.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,644

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone96,594 (76.8%)
  • Carpooled12,849 (10.2%)
  • Worked At Home12,345 (9.8%)
  • Walked1,444 (1.1%)
  • Other855 (0.7%)
  • Public Transit628 (0.5%)

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.