Lebanon, Illinois
Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,418 at the 2010 census and had decreased to an estimated 4,256 as of 2018. Like many other places in "Little Egypt" or Southern Illinois, Lebanon was named after the Eastern Mediterranean country of the same name. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Lebanon is home to McKendree University, the oldest college in Illinois. Geography. Lebanon is located at (38.603398, -89.811271). According to the 2010 census, Lebanon has a total area of , of which  (or 99.43%) is land and (or 0.57%) is water. Demographics. As of the census of 2010, there were 5,523 people, 1,275 households, and 804 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,641.4 people per square mile (632.7/km). There were 1,389 housing units at an average density of 647.2 per square mile (249.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 78.46% White, 18.45% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population. There were  1,275 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 18.6% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45  to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,042, and the median income for a family was $48,711. Males had a median income of $30,597 versus $21,341 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,125. About 9.8% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of  those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over. Education. Lebanon is home to the oldest founded college in the state of Illinois, McKendree University, and is also home to Lebanon Grade School And Lebanon High School (home of the Greyhounds). Newspapers. There have been at least a dozen newspapers that have called Lebanon home. The Lebanon "Advertiser" has operated there since 1911. On December 26, 2013, it was purchased by David Porter. The former owner, Harrison Leon Church, owned the newspaper for 40 years. Except for a few months between Harrison and his father, Leon Church , the Church family owned the newspaper for 75 years.