Douglas County, Illinois

Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 19,740.^[1] The county seat is Tuscola.^[2]

Douglas County
County
Douglas County Courthouse and veterans' memorial
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°46′N 88°13′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1859
Named after	Stephen A. Douglas
Seat	Tuscola
Largest city	Tuscola
Area
• Total	417 sq mi (1,080 km2)
• Land	416 sq mi (1,080 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,740
• Estimate  (2024)	19,824
• Density	47.7/sq mi (18.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	15th
Website	douglascountyil.gov

History

Douglas County was formed in 1859 out of Coles County. It was named for Stephen A. Douglas,^[3] who was elected to the United States Senate in 1858, following the Lincoln–Douglas debates.

• 
  The creation of Douglas and Ford Counties in 1859 resulted in Illinois' current county map.

Geography

The west face of the Douglas County courthouse

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 417 square miles (1,080 km²), of which 417 square miles (1,080 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[4]

Climate and weather

Tuscola, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.3     34 18     2.1     41 23     3.1     53 33     3.8     66 42     4     76 53     4.2     85 62     4.6     88 66     3.7     86 64     3.1     80 56     2.9     68 45     3.7     52 35     3.1     39 24 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[5]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     58     1 −8     54     5 −5     80     12 1     98     19 6     101     24 12     105     29 17     118     31 19     95     30 18     80     27 13     73     20 7     95     11 2     77     4 −4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Tuscola have ranged from a low of 18 °F (−8 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in December 1989 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.12 inches (54 mm) in February to 4.64 inches (118 mm) in July.^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Champaign County - north
• Vermilion County - northeast
• Edgar County - east
• Coles County - south
• Moultrie County - west
• Piatt County - northwest

Major highways

• Interstate 57
• US Route 36
• US Route 45
• Illinois Route 49
• Illinois Route 130
• Illinois Route 133

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	7,140		—
1870	13,484		88.9%
1880	15,853		17.6%
1890	17,669		11.5%
1900	19,097		8.1%
1910	19,591		2.6%
1920	19,604		0.1%
1930	17,914		−8.6%
1940	17,590		−1.8%
1950	16,706		−5.0%
1960	19,243		15.2%
1970	18,997		−1.3%
1980	19,774		4.1%
1990	19,464		−1.6%
2000	19,922		2.4%
2010	19,980		0.3%
2020	19,740		−1.2%
2024 (est.)	19,824		0.4%
US Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2014[10] 2020[1] 2024[11]

2000 census age pyramid for Douglas County

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 19,980 people, 7,720 households, and 5,377 families living in the county.^[12] The population density was 48.0 inhabitants per square mile (18.5/km²). There were 8,390 housing units at an average density of 20.1 per square mile (7.8/km²).^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 95.7% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 2.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.1% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 29.6% were German, 12.6% were American, 12.1% were English, and 10.7% were Irish.^[13]

Of the 7,720 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.3% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 38.7 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $46,941 and the median income for a family was $60,352. Males had a median income of $41,318 versus $28,731 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,438. About 7.1% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.^[14]

Communities

Map of Douglas County, Illinois

Cities

• Arcola
• Newman
• Tuscola (seat)
• Villa Grove

Villages

• Arthur (partial)
• Atwood (partial)
• Camargo
• Garrett
• Hindsboro

Unincorporated communities

• Bourbon
• Chesterville
• Chicken Bristle
• Fairland
• Ficklin
• Filson
• Galton
• Hugo
• Hayes
• Hillcrest
• Kemp
• Murdock
• North Prairie Acres
• Patterson Springs
• West Ridge

Townships

• Arcola
• Bourbon
• Bowdre
• Camargo
• Garrett
• Murdock
• Newman
• Sargent
• Tuscola

Politics

Douglas is a strongly Republican county. Apart from a narrow plurality of thirty-two votes to Bill Clinton in 1992, it has voted Republican in every Presidential election since 1968, and in all but five overall since 1880. Despite its long-time Republican leanings, Hillary Clinton's 2016 performance of gaining a mere 23.8 percent of the county's vote stands over six percent worse than any Democrat since the Civil War.

United States presidential election results for Douglas County, Illinois^[15]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,076	71.92%	2,198	26.02%	174	2.06%
2020	6,227	71.08%	2,335	26.66%	198	2.26%
2016	5,698	69.53%	1,949	23.78%	548	6.69%
2012	5,334	67.34%	2,430	30.68%	157	1.98%
2008	5,005	59.73%	3,228	38.52%	146	1.74%
2004	5,702	66.77%	2,767	32.40%	71	0.83%
2000	4,734	58.07%	3,215	39.44%	203	2.49%
1996	3,272	46.66%	2,955	42.14%	786	11.21%
1992	3,309	39.98%	3,341	40.37%	1,626	19.65%
1988	4,378	57.62%	3,184	41.91%	36	0.47%
1984	5,691	66.14%	2,886	33.54%	27	0.31%
1980	5,330	64.26%	2,564	30.91%	400	4.82%
1976	4,635	54.39%	3,826	44.90%	61	0.72%
1972	5,840	68.66%	2,656	31.23%	10	0.12%
1968	5,058	59.25%	2,824	33.08%	655	7.67%
1964	4,223	47.35%	4,695	52.65%	0	0.00%
1960	5,761	61.95%	3,532	37.98%	6	0.06%
1956	5,559	66.66%	2,774	33.27%	6	0.07%
1952	5,530	67.10%	2,706	32.84%	5	0.06%
1948	4,181	58.65%	2,893	40.58%	55	0.77%
1944	4,684	58.29%	3,323	41.36%	28	0.35%
1940	5,451	54.34%	4,513	44.99%	67	0.67%
1936	4,606	47.51%	5,029	51.88%	59	0.61%
1932	3,108	37.74%	4,954	60.15%	174	2.11%
1928	4,890	68.19%	2,239	31.22%	42	0.59%
1924	4,046	55.65%	2,315	31.84%	909	12.50%
1920	4,885	65.21%	2,308	30.81%	298	3.98%
1916	4,564	52.17%	3,768	43.07%	416	4.76%
1912	1,386	31.03%	1,633	36.56%	1,448	32.42%
1908	2,656	55.33%	1,917	39.94%	227	4.73%
1904	2,518	54.80%	1,685	36.67%	392	8.53%
1900	2,733	55.46%	2,106	42.74%	89	1.81%
1896	2,666	54.78%	2,140	43.97%	61	1.25%
1892	2,246	50.48%	1,999	44.93%	204	4.59%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Illinois