Marion County, Illinois

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 37,729. Its county seat is Salem. Marion County comprises the Centralia, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area.

History

Marion County was organized on January 24, 1823, from portions of Jefferson and Fayette counties. It was named in honor of Revolutionary War Gen. Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox".

File:Marion County Illinois 1823.png|Marion County at the time of its creation in 1823

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Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Salem 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 August 1983. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 37,729. The median age was 42.7 years, with 22.7% of residents under the age of 18 and 21.2% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.1 males age 18 and over.

52.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 47.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 15,620 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.8% were married-couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|41,487

|39,477

|38,951

|36,456

|style='background: #ffffe6; |33,150

|95.32%

|94.99%

|93.43%

|92.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |87.86%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1,518

|1,507

|1,593

|1,536

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,509

|3.49%

|3.63%

|3.82%

|3.89%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.00%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|68

|106

|85

|105

|style='background: #ffffe6; |94

|0.16%

|0.26%

|0.20%

|0.27%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|Asian alone (NH)

|138

|227

|235

|224

|style='background: #ffffe6; |349

|0.32%

|0.55%

|0.56%

|0.57%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.93%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.04%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Other race alone (NH)

|42

|12

|26

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |97

|0.10%

|0.03%

|0.06%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|408

|554

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,817

|0.98%

|1.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.82%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|270

|232

|378

|542

|style='background: #ffffe6; |712

|0.62%

|0.56%

|0.91%

|1.37%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.89%

|Total

|43,523

|41,561

|41,691

|39,437

|style='background: #ffffe6; |37,729

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 39,437 people, 16,148 households, and 10,746 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 18,296 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.1% white, 3.9% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population.

Of the 16,148 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 41.4 years.

Communities

Cities

Centralia
Kinmundy
Salem
Wamac

Villages

Alma
Central City
Iuka
Junction City
Kell
Odin
Patoka
Sandoval
Vernon
Walnut Hill

Townships

Marion County is divided into seventeen townships:

Alma
Carrigan
Centralia
Foster
Haines
Iuka
Kinmundy
Meacham
Odin
Omega
Patoka
Raccoon
Romine
Salem
Sandoval
Stevenson
Tonti

Unincorporated communities

Greendale
Tonti

Politics

Initially a strongly Democratic anti-Yankee county, Marion County has undergone two transitions. Between 1912 and 2004 it was a perfect bellwether apart from the Catholicism-influenced 1960 election when substantial anti-Catholic voting by its largely southern white population caused it to support Republican Richard Nixon. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century it has voted consistently for Republican presidential candidates.