• county
  • FIPS 17053
  • Largest town: Paxton

Ford County, Illinois

Ford County had 13,451 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 485.6 square miles of land. It ranks 77th of 102 in Illinois by population and 56th by land area.

Population
13,451
#77 of 102 in Illinois · #2,193 in US
Area
485.6 sq mi
#56 of 102 in Illinois · #2,137 in US
Density
28 / sq mi
#76 of 102 in Illinois · #1,998 in US
Median household income
$71,110
#34 of 102 in Illinois · #923 in US

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

Ford County within Illinois. Pin: Springfield.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Ford County

Ford County population, land area and income

Ford County had 13,451 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 485.6 square miles of land. It ranks 77th of 102 in Illinois by population and 56th by land area. That works out to 27.7 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; Ford County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $71,110 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

13,451

3144th1st

2193rd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

486 sq mi

3144th1st

2137th of 3,144 (US)

Density

27.7 / sq mi

3144th1st

1998th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$71,110

3143rd1st

923rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Illinois (102)

Population

13,451

102nd1st

77th of 102 (IL)

Land area

486 sq mi

102nd1st

56th of 102 (IL)

Density

27.7 / sq mi

102nd1st

76th of 102 (IL)

Median household income

$71,110

102nd1st

34th of 102 (IL)

How Ford County's population changed since 2020

Ford County lost 60 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.4%. That ranks 24th 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, Ford County recorded 601 births and 880 deaths, a natural change of -279. Net international migration added +217 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -21. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 279 people.

13.5k202013.5k202113.3k202213.3k202313.5k2024
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
601
Deaths
880
Net international migration
+217
Net domestic migration
-21
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+135

Where Ford County is

The Census internal point of Ford County is at 40.596500, -88.224600. 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 Ford 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: Ford County internal point. Dark pin: Springfield.

Internal point

Decimal
40.596500, -88.224600
DMS
40°35'47.40"N 88°13'28.56"W
UTM
16N 396382.5E 4494686.9N
Geohash
dp1qbqkgc
Plus code
86GHHQWG+H5

Towns in Ford County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Ford County, 7,846 people together, or 58% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Ford County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Paxton with 4,402.

  1. 01Paxton4,402
  2. 02Gibson City3,444
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Ford County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Ford County. The most populous is Champaign County, IL, with 212,374 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 94.0 miles SW of Ford County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Joliet, IL (population 151,837), 63.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Rantoul, IL (population 12,268), 20.6 miles away.

Ford County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Ford County is 17053: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 053. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $71,110.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Ford County, Illinois?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 13,451. That is down 60 people (0.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 13,511.

What is the FIPS code of Ford County?

17053. The first two digits (17) are Illinois; the last three (053) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Ford County?

Paxton, with 4,402 residents inside Ford County in 2024.

Which counties border Ford County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Champaign County, IL; McLean County, IL; Kankakee County, IL; Vermilion County, IL; Livingston County, IL; Iroquois 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.