Richland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 15,813. Its county seat is Olney.

History Richland County was established in 1841 out of portions of East part of Clay and West part of Lawrence counties. It was named for Richland County, Ohio, where many of the early settlers migrated from.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Olney have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1951 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.

Transit Rides Mass Transit District

Major highways U.S. Route 50 Illinois Route 130 Illinois Route 250

Adjacent counties Jasper County (north) Crawford County (northeast) Lawrence County (east) Wabash County (southeast) Edwards County (south) Wayne County (southwest) Clay County (west)

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 15,813. The median age was 43.2 years, with 22.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 21.7% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.6 males age 18 and over. The population density was .

54.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 45.3% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.7% of the population.

There were 6,621 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.8% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,364 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.2% were owner-occupied and 26.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.9%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Richland County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)17,36916,39215,77215,67314,81398.76%99.08%97.67%96.55%93.68%Black or African American alone (NH)12174278750.07%0.10%0.26%0.48%0.47%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)23231825280.13%0.14%0.11%0.15%0.18%Asian alone (NH)4738911171230.27%0.23%0.56%0.72%0.78%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census417xx0.02%0.01%0.04%Other race alone (NH)55174220.31%0.01%0.04%0.02%0.14%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census91130472xx0.56%0.80%2.98%Hispanic or Latino (any race)81741242052730.46%0.45%0.77%1.26%1.73%Total17,58716,54516,14916,23315,813 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,233 people, 6,726 households, and 4,438 families residing in the county.

The 2010 population density was . In 2010, there were 7,513 housing units at an average density of .

The 2010 racial makeup of the county was 97.3% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 29.6% were German, 11.7% were American, 11.4% were English, and 9.2% were Irish.

Of the 6,726 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,917 and the median income for a family was $53,853. Males had a median income of $41,058 versus $31,296 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,874. About 9.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over. Richland is the top ranked most affordable county in Illinois to buy a car and is on average $932 less expensive than other Illinois counties. Communities

City Olney (seat)

Villages Calhoun Claremont Noble Parkersburg

Census-designated place

Dundas

Unincorporated communities Berryville Elbow Wynoose Stringtown

Townships Richland County is divided into nine townships:

Bonpas Claremont Decker Denver German Madison Noble Olney Preston

Notable people Alexander W. Swanitz (1851–1915), civil engineer who participated in the construction of railroads in various parts of the country Dial D. Ryder (1938–2011), gun smith

Politics Richland County is a Republican stronghold and Republicans hold all but one seat of county offices. Since the 1950s, the county has only voted for two Democratic presidents and two Democratic state governors. In all cases, these were landslide victories where the aforementioned Democrat won a majority of Illinois's counties. Illinois local Barack Obama was the last Democratic presidential candidate to obtain 40% of the vote. In recent years, Donald Trump has won Richland County by 75% margins.

Initially in the 1800s, Richland County was comfortably Democratic; though it also was fervently Whig during that party's short lifetime. The Democratic bend stayed slightly after the turn of the century: it voted for William Jennings Bryan in each of his unsuccessful presidential bids, in 1900 it voted for Samuel Alschuler for governor even as IIllinois as a whole picked Richard Yates Jr., and in 1908 it voted for Adlai Stevenson I against the backdrop of Charles Samuel Deneen's successful re-election to governor. As late as 1916, Richland County voted for Democratic president Woodrow Wilson despite Illinois picking Republican Charles Evans Hughes. For the next few decades, the county would vote with the rest of Illinois, before swinging strongly to Republicans around the 1940s.

Government + Elected officials Office Office holder County Board Chairman Travis Paddock (R) County Board Vice Chairman Morgan Henton (R) County Board Member - District 1 Brian VanBlaricum (R) County Board Member - District 2 Dennis Graves (R) County Board Member - District 3 Alexis McFarland (R) County Board Member - District 4 Cynthia Ann Given (D) County Board Member - District 5 Morgan Henton (R) County Board Member - District 6 Travis Paddock (R) County Board Member - District 7 Steve Schonert (R) County Clerk Amanda Troyer (R) County Circuit Clerk Zach Holder (R) County Treasurer Mike Hahn (R) County Assessor Tim Hahn (R) Coroner Steve Patterson (R) States Attorney Mary Beth Welch Collins (R) County Sheriff Andy Hires (R)

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland County

References