Wayne County, Illinois
Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 16,760. Its county seat is Fairfield. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt". History. Wayne County was formed in 1819 out of Edwards County. It is named after Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne, an officer in the Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War. Geography. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. Climate and weather. In  recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Fairfield have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in April. Demographics. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,760 people, 7,102 households, and 4,853 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 7,975 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% Asian , 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.0% were German, 14.1% were English, 12.7% were American, and 9.8% were Irish. Of the 7,102 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the  average family size was 2.86. The median age was 42.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,207 and the median income for a family was $47,879. Males had a median income of $34,800 versus $27,192 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,493. About 9.9% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over. Communities. Townships. Wayne County is divided into these 20 townships: Program 1033 Acquisitions. According to  Department of Defense data, Wayne County has received six 5.56MM rifles and three "Utility Trucks" with a total acquisition cost of $120,705. Politics. Wayne County gave Donald Trump over 80% of the vote in the last two elections, with Wayne County being Trump's best performance in Illinois in the 2020 Presidential Election. Wayne County has also voted overwhelmingly Republican in most recent elections with Lyndon B. Johnson being the last Democrat to win the county back in 1964.