Pulaski County, Illinois

Pulaski County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,193. Its largest city is Mounds. It is located along the Ohio River in the southwestern portion of the state, known locally as "Little Egypt".

History

Pulaski County was formed on March 3, 1843, out of parts of Alexander and Johnson counties. It was named in honor of Casimir Pułaski who was killed at the siege of Savannah in the Revolutionary War.

File:Pulaski County Illinois 1843.png|Pulaski County at the time of its creation in 1843

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Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mound City have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in September to in May.

20px U.S. Highway 51
20px Illinois Route 3
20px Illinois Route 37
20px Illinois Route 169

Adjacent counties

Union County (north)
Johnson County (northeast)
Massac County (east)
Ballard County, Kentucky (southeast)
Alexander County (west)

National protected area

Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,193. The median age was 46.0 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.7 males age 18 and over.

Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,268 households in the county, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.1% were married-couple households, 23.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Pulaski County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

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

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

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

|White alone (NH)

|5,865

|5,020

|4,841

|3,937

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,245

|66.35%

|66.73%

|65.88%

|63.90%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |62.49%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,900

|2,459

|2,249

|1,976

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,462

|32.81%

|32.69%

|30.61%

|32.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |28.15%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|19

|10

|25

|style='background: #ffffe6; |36

|0.21%

|0.11%

|0.14%

|0.41%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.69%

|Asian alone (NH)

|11

|68

|13

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13

|0.12%

|0.08%

|0.93%

|0.21%

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

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.05%

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

|Other race alone (NH)

|14

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14

|0.05%

|0.01%

|0.08%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|67

|96

|style='background: #ffffe6; |219

|0.91%

|1.56%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.22%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|41

|29

|107

|97

|style='background: #ffffe6; |204

|0.46%

|0.39%

|1.46%

|1.57%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.93%

|Total

|8,840

|7,523

|7,348

|6,161

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,193

|100.00%

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

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 6,161 people, 2,642 households, and 1,658 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 3,155 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 64.4% white, 32.4% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population.

Of the 2,642 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age was 43.2 years.

Communities

Cities

Mound City
Mounds

Villages

Karnak
New Grand Chain (usually referred to as "Grand Chain")
Olmsted
Pulaski
Ullin

Unincorporated communities

America
Perks
Spencer Heights
Villa Ridge
Wetaug

Politics

Pulaski County was often a swing county at the presidential level, but has voted for the Republican candidates for U.S. president since 2012.

This trend in Pulaski County has begun to affect down-ballot races as well. In the 2020 Senate election, longtime Democratic Senator Dick Durbin lost the county for the first time in his career, after winning it in his four prior elections.