McDonough County, Illinois

	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel

Macomb, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches
	Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	█ Precipitation totals in mm

McDonough County
McDonough County
County
	McDonough County Courthouse, 2006
	Flag
	Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
	Illinois's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 40°28′N 90°41′W / 40.46°N 90.68°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	January 25, 1826
Named for	Thomas Macdonough
Seat	Macomb
Largest city	Macomb
Area
• Total	590 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	589 sq mi (1,530 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2 km2) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	27,238
• Density	46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	15th, 17th
Website	mcg.mcdonough.il.us

McDonough County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,238.^[1] Its county seat is Macomb,^[2] which is also the home of Western Illinois University.

McDonough County is part of the Macomb, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

McDonough County is named in honor of Thomas Macdonough who defeated a British squadron in the decisive naval Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.^[3] McDonough County was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress for veterans of the War of 1812.

McDonough County at the time of its creation in 1826

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 590 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 589 square miles (1,530 km²) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[4]

The county has the unusual distinction of forming a perfect square by Mercator map projection. The county seat, Macomb, is in the center of the county, and the courthouse is almost precisely in the center of the county.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Macomb have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −30 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in August 1934. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.47 inches (37 mm) in January to 4.58 inches (116 mm) in May.^[5]

Public transit

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Henderson County - northwest
Warren County - north
Fulton County - east
Schuyler County - south
Hancock County - west

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	5,308		—
1850	7,616		43.5%
1860	20,069		163.5%
1870	26,509		32.1%
1880	27,970		5.5%
1890	27,467		−1.8%
1900	28,412		3.4%
1910	26,887		−5.4%
1920	27,074		0.7%
1930	27,329		0.9%
1940	26,944		−1.4%
1950	28,199		4.7%
1960	28,928		2.6%
1970	36,653		26.7%
1980	37,467		2.2%
1990	35,244		−5.9%
2000	32,913		−6.6%
2010	32,612		−0.9%
2020	27,238		−16.5%
2023 (est.)	26,839	^[6]	−1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010^[11]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,612 people, 13,057 households, and 6,724 families residing in the county.^[12] The population density was 55.3 inhabitants per square mile (21.4/km²). There were 14,419 housing units at an average density of 24.5 per square mile (9.5/km²).^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% white, 5.0% black or African American, 1.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population.^[12] In terms of ancestry, 25.0% were German, 14.7% were American, 13.7% were Irish, 12.7% were English, and 5.1% were Italian.^[13]

Of the 13,057 households, 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 48.5% were non-families, and 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 28.9 years.^[12]

The median income for a household in the county was $33,702 and the median income for a family was $52,390. Males had a median income of $42,297 versus $28,530 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,344. About 12.8% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.^[14]

Communities

Cities

Villages

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated place

Colmar
Doddsville
Fandon
Hills Grove
New Philadelphia
Scottsburg
Vishnu Springs
Walnut Grove

Townships

Education

McDonough County is served by three school districts and two colleges:

Politics

United States presidential election results for McDonough County, Illinois^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,027	57.00%	4,992	40.50%	308	2.50%
2016	6,795	51.70%	5,288	40.23%	1,061	8.07%
2012	6,147	49.36%	5,967	47.91%	340	2.73%
2008	6,055	46.32%	6,783	51.89%	234	1.79%
2004	7,656	51.28%	7,119	47.69%	154	1.03%
2000	6,465	49.68%	6,080	46.73%	467	3.59%
1996	5,049	41.95%	5,632	46.80%	1,354	11.25%
1992	5,297	38.05%	5,814	41.76%	2,811	20.19%
1988	7,173	57.42%	5,247	42.00%	73	0.58%
1984	9,383	67.02%	4,561	32.58%	57	0.41%
1980	8,995	61.66%	4,093	28.06%	1,501	10.29%
1976	9,683	62.33%	5,464	35.17%	387	2.49%
1972	10,573	67.18%	5,143	32.68%	22	0.14%
1968	8,496	65.74%	3,785	29.29%	643	4.98%
1964	6,907	52.92%	6,144	47.08%	0	0.00%
1960	9,363	67.39%	4,520	32.53%	10	0.07%
1956	9,725	71.48%	3,872	28.46%	8	0.06%
1952	10,126	72.06%	3,922	27.91%	5	0.04%
1948	8,058	65.13%	4,206	33.99%	109	0.88%
1944	9,028	66.30%	4,497	33.03%	91	0.67%
1940	10,326	63.67%	5,783	35.66%	108	0.67%
1936	8,723	54.48%	7,138	44.58%	151	0.94%
1932	6,329	44.87%	7,608	53.94%	168	1.19%
1928	8,953	68.15%	4,104	31.24%	81	0.62%
1924	7,505	60.99%	4,016	32.63%	785	6.38%
1920	7,221	63.18%	3,930	34.38%	279	2.44%
1916	7,192	53.08%	5,740	42.36%	617	4.55%
1912	1,876	26.90%	2,959	42.44%	2,138	30.66%
1908	3,733	51.05%	3,112	42.56%	467	6.39%
1904	4,041	55.36%	2,730	37.40%	528	7.23%
1900	4,076	52.71%	3,444	44.54%	213	2.75%
1896	4,036	51.16%	3,684	46.70%	169	2.14%
1892	3,319	46.73%	3,237	45.57%	547	7.70%

McDonough County is split between Illinois’ 15th Congressional District and Illinois' 17th Congressional District, with the majority of the county in the 15th. The Cities of Macomb and Bardolph are included in the 17th district, and the cities of Bushnell, Colchester, Prairie City, Good Hope, Sciota, Industry and Adair are in the 15th district. The 15th District is currently represented by Republican Mary Miller. The 17th District is currently represented by Democrat Eric Sorenson. For the Illinois House of Representatives, the county is yet again split between the 71st district and the 94th district. The Cities of Macomb, Bushnell, Bardolph, and Prairie City are represented by Republican Daniel Swanson of the 71st district. The cities of Colchester, Industry, Good Hope, Sciota, and Adair are currently represented by Republican Norine Hammond of the 94th district. The county is split along the same lines in the Illinois House as it is in the Illinois Senate, thus the 71st district of the house's lines are the same as the 36th district of the Illinois Senate. The 36th district of the Illinois Senate is represented by Democrat Michael Halpin. The 47th district of the Illinois Senate is represented by Republican Neil Anderson.

In presidential elections, McDonough County was once reliably Republican, voting for the Republican candidate in all but two elections (1912 & 1932) from 1892 to 1988. Since 1988, the county has become more competitive, with Democrats carrying the county three out of seven times and holding the Republican candidate's margin of victory to under four points three times. In 2020, however, McDonough County went for Trump by a margin of 16.5%.