• county
  • FIPS 17051
  • Largest town: Vandalia

Fayette County, Illinois

Fayette County had 21,157 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 716.4 square miles of land. It ranks 54th of 102 in Illinois by population and 20th by land area.

Population
21,157
#54 of 102 in Illinois · #1,762 in US
Area
716.4 sq mi
#20 of 102 in Illinois · #1,263 in US
Density
30 / sq mi
#75 of 102 in Illinois · #1,938 in US
Median household income
$61,952
#75 of 102 in Illinois · #1,645 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Fayette County within Illinois. Pin: Springfield.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Fayette County

Fayette County population, land area and income

Fayette County had 21,157 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 716.4 square miles of land. It ranks 54th of 102 in Illinois by population and 20th by land area. That works out to 29.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Illinois has 24,447 residents; Fayette County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $61,952 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

21,157

3144th1st

1762nd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

716 sq mi

3144th1st

1263rd of 3,144 (US)

Density

29.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

1938th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$61,952

3143rd1st

1645th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Illinois (102)

Population

21,157

102nd1st

54th of 102 (IL)

Land area

716 sq mi

102nd1st

20th of 102 (IL)

Density

29.5 / sq mi

102nd1st

75th of 102 (IL)

Median household income

$61,952

102nd1st

75th of 102 (IL)

How Fayette County's population changed since 2020

Fayette County lost 328 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.5%. That ranks 47th of 102 in Illinois for growth. The median Illinois county changed by -1.7%, and the state as a whole by -0.7%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Fayette County recorded 945 births and 1,120 deaths, a natural change of -175. Net international migration added +34 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -206. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 206 people.

21.5k202021.4k202121.3k202221.2k202321.2k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
945
Deaths
1,120
Net international migration
+34
Net domestic migration
-206
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-52

Where Fayette County is

The Census internal point of Fayette County is at 39.001100, -89.017900. It sits in UTM zone 16N. The map shades Illinois's 102 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Fayette County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Piatt County: -0.3%Hamilton County: -2.2%Williamson County: -0.1%Edgar County: -2.4%Macoupin County: -2.3%Marshall County: -1.3%Putnam County: +0.0%Richland County: -2.8%Washington County: -1.4%Lee County: -1.5%Douglas County: +0.2%Cook County: -1.6%Effingham County: -0.3%Edwards County: -3.6%Cass County: -2.0%Clay County: -3.4%Knox County: -2.2%LaSalle County: -0.9%Cumberland County: -1.3%Warren County: -3.7%Moultrie County: -0.9%Menard County: -2.5%Fayette County: -1.5%Boone County: -0.0%Lawrence County: -3.2%Marion County: -3.2%Champaign County: +3.0%Clark County: -2.4%Ford County: -0.4%Wayne County: -1.4%Logan County: -1.4%Grundy County: +2.5%Jasper County: -1.8%Crawford County: -1.3%McDonough County: -1.7%Clinton County: +0.5%Perry County: -3.0%Montgomery County: -2.2%Henry County: -2.0%Livingston County: -1.2%Scott County: -3.8%Alexander County: -11.2%Bureau County: -2.2%Brown County: +1.1%Mason County: -3.9%Calhoun County: -4.1%Greene County: -4.3%Coles County: -1.4%Kendall County: +8.2%Lake County: +0.7%Mercer County: -2.2%St. Clair County: -2.3%Wabash County: -3.0%Bond County: -1.7%DuPage County: +0.6%Gallatin County: -5.2%Stephenson County: -3.3%McHenry County: +1.9%White County: -3.0%Saline County: -3.9%Christian County: -2.2%Sangamon County: -1.0%Massac County: -3.6%Macon County: -2.9%Johnson County: -0.0%Jo Daviess County: -2.6%Peoria County: -1.0%DeKalb County: +1.0%Pope County: -1.5%De Witt County: -0.9%Schuyler County: -1.7%Fulton County: -3.1%Ogle County: -0.8%Jersey County: -1.6%Iroquois County: -3.3%Kankakee County: -0.9%Rock Island County: -1.1%Pulaski County: -5.8%Kane County: +0.9%Union County: -2.4%Whiteside County: -1.7%Woodford County: -0.3%Carroll County: -1.5%Adams County: -2.3%Hardin County: -2.6%Madison County: -1.0%Hancock County: -3.1%Monroe County: +0.0%Tazewell County: -1.1%Jackson County: -0.1%Vermilion County: -3.9%Randolph County: -0.6%McLean County: +0.5%Morgan County: -2.6%Shelby County: -1.7%Will County: +1.7%Winnebago County: -0.4%Jefferson County: -2.4%Stark County: -2.2%Henderson County: -4.5%Pike County: -2.6%Franklin County: -1.8%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.0%
  2. < -2.2%
  3. < -1.4%
  4. < -0.3%
  5. ≥ -0.3%
no data

Orange pin: Fayette County internal point. Dark pin: Springfield.

Internal point

Decimal
39.001100, -89.017900
DMS
39°00'3.96"N 89°01'4.44"W
UTM
16N 325261.6E 4318835.6N
Geohash
dnbty7gju
Plus code
86FG2X2J+CR

Towns in Fayette County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Fayette County, 8,601 people together, or 41% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Fayette County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Vandalia with 7,358.

  1. 01Vandalia7,358
  2. 02St. Elmo1,243
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Fayette County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Fayette County. The most populous is Clinton County, IL, with 37,087 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 63.6 miles NNW of Fayette County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Springfield, IL (population 112,949), 64.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Effingham, IL (population 12,434), 26.4 miles away.

Fayette County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Fayette County is 17051: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 051. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $61,952.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Fayette County, Illinois?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 21,157. That is down 328 people (1.5%) from the July 2020 estimate of 21,485.

What is the FIPS code of Fayette County?

17051. The first two digits (17) are Illinois; the last three (051) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Fayette County?

Vandalia, with 7,358 residents inside Fayette County in 2024.

Which counties border Fayette County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Clinton County, IL; Marion County, IL; Effingham County, IL; Montgomery County, IL; Shelby County, IL; Bond County, IL; Clay County, IL.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.