# DeWitt County, Illinois

DeWitt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 15,516. Its county seat is Clinton. The county was formed on March 1, 1839, from Macon and McLean counties. The county was named in honor of the seventh Governor of New York State, DeWitt Clinton.
DeWitt County is included in Bloomington–Normal, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) list the county's name as De Witt, although the county uses the name DeWitt (no space).

## History

* DeWitt County from its creation in 1839 to the splitting off of Piatt County in 1841
* DeWitt County from 1841 to 1845
* DeWitt County in 1845, when it was reduced to its current size

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 405 square miles (1,050 km$^2$), of which 398 square miles (1,030 km$^2$) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km$^2$) (1.9%) is water.

### Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Clinton have ranged from a low of 17 °F (−8 °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 1905 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.95 inches (50 mm) in February to 4.54 inches (115 mm) in July.

### Adjacent counties

* McLean County - north
* Piatt County - east
* Macon County - south
* Logan County - west

### Transit

* SHOW Bus

### Major highways

* Interstate 74
* US Route 51
* US Route 150
* Illinois Route 10
* Illinois Route 48
* Illinois Route 54

## Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,561 people, 6,811 households, and 4,618 families residing in the county. The population density was 41.7 inhabitants per square mile (16.1/km$^2$). There were 7,521 housing units at an average density of 18.9 per square mile (7.3/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 96.8% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.2% were American, 21.7% were German, 15.8% were English, and 12.3% were Irish.
Of the 6,811 households, 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $45,347 and the median income for a family was $56,806. Males had a median income of $41,649 versus $27,729 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,320. About 6.4% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Clinton (seat)
* Farmer City

### Villages

* DeWitt
* Kenney
* Wapella
* Waynesville
* Weldon

### Townships

DeWitt County is divided into thirteen townships:
* Barnett
* Clintonia
* Creek
* DeWitt
* Harp
* Nixon
* Rutledge
* Santa Anna
* Texas
* Tunbridge
* Wapella
* Waynesville
* Wilson

### Unincorporated communities

* Birkbeck
* Bucks
* Carle Springs
* Fullerton
* Hallsville
* Jenkins
* Lane
* Midland City
* Ospur
* Parnell
* Rowell
* Solomon
* Tabor
* Tunbridge
* Watkins
* Weedman

## Politics

DeWitt is frequently a Republican county. It has not been carried by a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide, and even before that it was carried by Democrats only in strong winning elections like 1936, 1932, 1916, 1912 and 1892.
United States presidential election results for DeWitt County, Illinois :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 5,529 | 71.18% | 2,058 | 26.49% | 181 | 2.33% |
| 2020 | 5,632 | 70.06% | 2,191 | 27.25% | 216 | 2.69% |
| 2016 | 5,077 | 67.19% | 1,910 | 25.28% | 569 | 7.53% |
| 2012 | 4,579 | 62.15% | 2,601 | 35.30% | 188 | 2.55% |
| 2008 | 4,348 | 55.52% | 3,308 | 42.24% | 175 | 2.23% |
| 2004 | 4,920 | 63.09% | 2,836 | 36.37% | 42 | 0.54% |
| 2000 | 3,968 | 56.28% | 2,870 | 40.70% | 213 | 3.02% |
| 1996 | 2,978 | 45.20% | 2,878 | 43.68% | 733 | 11.12% |
| 1992 | 3,164 | 40.78% | 3,009 | 38.78% | 1,586 | 20.44% |
| 1988 | 3,942 | 59.32% | 2,660 | 40.03% | 43 | 0.65% |
| 1984 | 4,534 | 65.57% | 2,352 | 34.01% | 29 | 0.42% |
| 1980 | 4,648 | 63.29% | 2,262 | 30.80% | 434 | 5.91% |
| 1976 | 4,137 | 53.97% | 3,477 | 45.36% | 52 | 0.68% |
| 1972 | 5,025 | 65.22% | 2,672 | 34.68% | 8 | 0.10% |
| 1968 | 4,247 | 54.21% | 2,823 | 36.04% | 764 | 9.75% |
| 1964 | 3,605 | 45.20% | 4,371 | 54.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 5,074 | 58.40% | 3,607 | 41.51% | 8 | 0.09% |
| 1956 | 5,307 | 63.15% | 3,093 | 36.80% | 4 | 0.05% |
| 1952 | 5,212 | 61.78% | 3,221 | 38.18% | 3 | 0.04% |
| 1948 | 4,178 | 55.61% | 3,290 | 43.79% | 45 | 0.60% |
| 1944 | 4,630 | 55.40% | 3,658 | 43.77% | 69 | 0.83% |
| 1940 | 5,477 | 51.80% | 5,052 | 47.78% | 45 | 0.43% |
| 1936 | 4,544 | 44.20% | 5,676 | 55.21% | 60 | 0.58% |
| 1932 | 4,207 | 43.49% | 5,339 | 55.19% | 127 | 1.31% |
| 1928 | 6,100 | 69.40% | 2,631 | 29.93% | 59 | 0.67% |
| 1924 | 5,173 | 58.77% | 2,752 | 31.27% | 877 | 9.96% |
| 1920 | 5,001 | 60.68% | 3,079 | 37.36% | 162 | 1.97% |
| 1916 | 4,380 | 47.89% | 4,460 | 48.76% | 306 | 3.35% |
| 1912 | 1,346 | 28.49% | 1,880 | 39.79% | 1,499 | 31.72% |
| 1908 | 2,628 | 53.17% | 2,155 | 43.60% | 160 | 3.24% |
| 1904 | 2,771 | 55.96% | 1,872 | 37.80% | 309 | 6.24% |
| 1900 | 2,694 | 52.27% | 2,361 | 45.81% | 99 | 1.92% |
| 1896 | 2,587 | 51.45% | 2,370 | 47.14% | 71 | 1.41% |
| 1892 | 2,059 | 47.36% | 2,083 | 47.91% | 206 | 4.74% |

## Education

K-12 school districts include:
* Argenta-Oreana Community Unit School District 1
* Blue Ridge Community Unit School District 18
* Clinton Community Unit School District 15
* DeLand-Weldon Community Unit School District 57
* Heyworth Community Unit School District 4
* Le Roy Community Unit School District 2
* Maroa-Forsyth Community Unit School District 2
* Monticello Community Unit School District 25
* Mount Pulaski Community Unit District 23
* Olympia Community Unit School District 16
There are also an elementary school district, Chester-East Lincoln Community Csd 61, and a secondary school district, Lincoln Community High School District 404.