Richland County, Illinois

Richland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 15,813.^[2] Its county seat is Olney.^{[3][4]: County Seats}

Richland County was established in 1841 out of portions of East part of Clay and West part of Lawrence counties.^[5] It was named for Richland County, Ohio, where many of the early settlers migrated from.^{[4]: Origin of the name of the county}

• Richland County at the time of its creation in 1841

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 362 square miles (940 km²), of which 360 square miles (930 km²) is land^{[6]: Population tab, Population Density sub-tab} and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[7]

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Olney have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in February 1951 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.73 inches (69 mm) in February to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in May.^[8]

• Rides Mass Transit District

• U.S. Route 50
• Illinois Route 130
• Illinois Route 250

• Jasper County (north)
• Crawford County (northeast)
• Lawrence County (east)
• Wabash County (southeast)
• Edwards County (south)
• Wayne County (southwest)
• Clay County (west)

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 15,813. The median age was 43.2 years, with 22.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 21.7% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.6 males age 18 and over. The population density was 43.1 inhabitants per square mile (16.6/km²).^[15]

54.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 45.3% lived in rural areas.^[16]

The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.7% of the population.^[17]

There were 6,621 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.8% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[15]

There were 7,364 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.2% were owner-occupied and 26.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.9%.^[15]

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,233 people, 6,726 households, and 4,438 families residing in the county.^[27]

The 2010 population density was 45.1 inhabitants per square mile (17.4/km²).^[7] In 2010, there were 7,513 housing units at an average density of 20.9 per square mile (8.1/km²).^[7]

The 2010 racial makeup of the county was 97.3% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.^[27]

In terms of ancestry, 29.6% were German, 11.7% were American, 11.4% were English, and 9.2% were Irish.^[28]

Of the 6,726 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.1 years.^[27]

The median income for a household in the county was $41,917 and the median income for a family was $53,853. Males had a median income of $41,058 versus $31,296 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,874. About 9.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.^[29] Richland is the top ranked most affordable county in Illinois to buy a car and is on average $932 less expensive than other Illinois counties.^[30]

• Olney (seat)

• Calhoun
• Claremont
• Noble
• Parkersburg

• Dundas

• Berryville
• Elbow
• Wynoose

Richland County is divided into nine townships:^{[4]: Township Names}

• Alexander W. Swanitz (1851–1915), civil engineer who participated in the construction of railroads in various parts of the country
• Dial D. Ryder (1938–2011), gun smith

Richland County is a Republican stronghold and Republicans hold all but one seat of county offices. Since the 1950s, the county has only voted for two Democratic presidents and two Democratic state governors. In all cases, these were landslide victories where the aforementioned Democrat won a majority of Illinois's counties. Illinois local Barack Obama was the last Democratic presidential candidate to obtain 40% of the vote. In recent years, Donald Trump has won Richland County by 75% margins.

Initially in the 1800s, Richland County was comfortably Democratic; though it also was fervently Whig during that party's short lifetime. The Democratic bend stayed slightly after the turn of the century: it voted for William Jennings Bryan in each of his unsuccessful presidential bids, in 1900 it voted for Samuel Alschuler for governor even as IIllinois as a whole picked Richard Yates Jr., and in 1908 it voted for Adlai Stevenson I against the backdrop of Charles Samuel Deneen's successful re-election to governor. As late as 1916, Richland County voted for Democratic president Woodrow Wilson despite Illinois picking Republican Charles Evans Hughes. For the next few decades, the county would vote with Illinois as a whole, before swinging strongly to Republicans around the 1940s.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland County

38°43′N 88°05′W / 38.71°N 88.09°W / 38.71; -88.09