Peoria County, Illinois

Peoria County, Illinois
Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.
Gallery timeline
Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. The county is drained by Spoon River, Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, and Copperas Creek.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Peoria have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.
Adjacent counties
Knox County – northwest
Stark County – north
Marshall County – northeast
Woodford County – east
Tazewell County – south
Fulton County – southwest
Transportation
Transit
Greater Peoria Mass Transit District
List of intercity bus stops in Illinois
Major highways
Interstate 74 in Illinois
Interstate 474
U.S. Route 24 in Illinois
U.S. Route 150 in Illinois
Illinois Route 6
Illinois Route 8
Illinois Route 9
Illinois Route 29
Illinois Route 40
Illinois Route 78
Illinois Route 90
Illinois Route 91
Illinois Route 116
Illinois Route 336 (Soon)
Defunct highways
Illinois Route 174
Illinois Route 175
Airports
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), formerly Greater Peoria Regional Airport
Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport (3MY) – Peoria, Illinois
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 181,830 people, including 73,253 households. The population density was . There were 83,034 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white alone, 18.8% black or African American alone, 4.1% Asian alone, 0.4% American Indian alone, .1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 3.1% listed two or more races, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, and 69.4% were white and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. In terms of ancestry, per the 2010 US Census, 28.3% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 5.5% were American.
Of the 75,793 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 36.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $49,747 and the median income for a family was $63,163. Males had a median income of $51,246 versus $32,881 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,157. About 10.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest
Glasford crater
Jubilee College State Park
WMBD World's Most Beautiful Drive (Grandview Drive/Prospect)
Forest Park Nature Center
Peoria Heights Tower Park
Rock Island Trail
Communities
Cities
Chillicothe
Elmwood
Peoria (seat)
West Peoria
Villages
Bartonville
Bellevue
Brimfield
Dunlap
Glasford
Hanna City
Kingston Mines
Mapleton
Norwood
Peoria Heights
Princeville
Census-designated places
Lake Camelot
Mossville
Rome
Smithville
Trivoli
Unincorporated communities
Alta
Edelstein
Edwards
Kickapoo
Laura
Townships
Brimfield
Chillicothe
Elmwood
Jubilee
Kickapoo
Peoria City
Princeville
Trivoli
West Peoria
School districts
Notable residents
People from Peoria County other than in the city of Peoria:
Chris Brackett, host of Arrow Affliction on The Sportsman Channel
Mike Dunne, pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams
Mary Emma Holmes (1839-1937), reformer, suffragist, and educator
Bill Krieg, Major League Baseball player
Lance (Henry) LeGault, TV and movie actor: Colonel Roderick Decker on The A-Team
Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player: Cleveland Indians pitcher
Johnston McCulley, pulp fiction author: creator of Zorro
Richard Pryor, Actor, Comedian
David Ogden Stiers, actor, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H
Josh Taylor, TV actor: Chris Kostichek on the soap opera Days of Our Lives
Jim Thome, first baseman for several Major League Baseball teams
Government
Peoria County is governed by an 18-member County Board which meets on the second Thursday of each month. Each member represents a district with roughly 10,000 residents.
The County also elects an Auditor, Circuit Clerk, Coroner, County Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Regional Superintendent (Education), and Treasurer to four-year terms.
Politics
Peoria County, like Champaign County is a reliable state bellwether, having voted for Illinois' statewide winner in every presidential election since 1964. Prior to 1992, Peoria County, like most of central Illinois, was powerfully Republican. Usually, it only voted for Democratic Party presidential candidates when they won nationally by a landslide. It began trending away from the GOP in the mid-1980s, as evidenced when Ronald Reagan only carried it with 55 percent of the vote in 1984 even as he was winning reelection in a landslide nationally.
From 1992 onward, the county has backed the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, though never by a margin greater than 10 percent aside from 2008 when Illinoisan Barack Obama won it by nearly 14 points. This relative closeness in results was most evident in 2004 when the county backed John Kerry over George W. Bush by only 70 votes.
In Congress, Peoria County is represented by Democrat Eric Sorenson of Illinois's 17th congressional district and Republican Darin LaHood of the Illinois's 18th congressional district.
In the Illinois Senate, Peoria County is represented by Republican Win Stoller of the 37th Legislative District and Democrat Dave Koehler of the 46th Legislative District. In the Illinois House of Representatives, Peoria County is represented by Republican Ryan Spain of the 73rd Representative District, Republican Travis Weaver of the 91st Representative District and Democrat Jehan Gordon-Booth of the 92nd Representative District.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Peoria County, Illinois
References
External links
Illinois counties
Illinois placenames of Native American origin
1825 establishments in Illinois
Populated places established in 1825
Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois