Champaign County, Illinois

Champaign County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 179,669. Its county seat is Urbana, Illinois ⁶.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,584 km² (998 mi²). 2,582 km² (997 mi²) of it is land and 2 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.07%) is water.

Because Champaign County is situated on a large and very flat plateau, it had virtually no natural drainage, so that much of the County consisted of wetlands until drainage ditches were built, beginning in the 1870s. This was an example of an upland marsh, which resulted in a high incidence of malaria before the late nineteenth century.

The topography of Champaign County was formed by the Wisconsin Glacier about 10,000 years before the present. Lobes of ice from what is now Lake Michigan crossed the county, creating a deep pile of glacial soil, up to 300 feet thick, topped by numerous moraines forming small, flat watersheds with no outlets.

Champaign County is situated on the divide between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Rivers flow out of Champaign County to the east, west, and south. The Kaskaskia River has its origin to the northwest of Champaign, draining the western side of that City. The Kaskaskia flows toward the southwest, joining the Mississippi south of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Embarras River, on the other hand, drains the south-central portion of the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area, originating in southeastern Champaign and flowing through the experimental fields on the southern part of the campus of the University of Illinois. The Embarras is tributary to the Wabash River and Ohio River systems. The northeast corner of Champaign, the central portion of the University campus, and the northern part of Urbana are drained by the Boneyard Creek, which flows into the Saline Ditch, a tributary of the Vermilion and Wabash Rivers.

Adjacent Counties

Ford County - north
Vermilion County - east
Edgar County - southeast
Douglas County - south
Piatt County - west
McLean County - northwest

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 179,669 people, 70,597 households, and 39,322 families residing in the county. The population density was 70/km² (180/mi²). There were 75,280 housing units at an average density of 29/km² (76/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.78% White, 11.16% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 6.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 2.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 70,597 households out of which 27.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.60% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.30% were non-families. 31.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.00% under the age of 18, 23.10% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 18.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 101.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,780, and the median income for a family was $52,591. Males had a median income of $36,844 versus $26,421 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,708. About 6.90% of families and 16.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 4.90% of those age 65 or over.

History

Champaign County was organized in 1833, having been previously a part of Vermilion County. The county and county seat were named for Champaign County, Ohio and Urbana, Ohio respectively, the homeplace of the Illinois legislator who sponsored the bill to create the county. The development of the county was greatly furthered by the arrival of the Chicago Branch of the Illinois Central Railroad, and even more by the establishment of the land-grant university. Later, the county also got an airport and a mass transit district. The northern part of the county experienced an economic and demographic setback with the closing of Chanute Air Training Center in the 1990's. In the 2004 Presidential election, it was one of only 15 of the 102 Illinois counties in which John Kerry received a majority of the vote (50.5%).

Cities and villages

Census-designated places

Lake of the Woods

Illinois counties | Champaign County, Illinois