Hardin County, Illinois

Hardin County population, land area and income

Hardin County had 3,550 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 177.4 square miles of land. It ranks 102nd of 102 in Illinois by population and 101st by land area. That works out to 20.0 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, so Hardin County has 15% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,216 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Hardin County's population changed since 2020

Hardin County lost 96 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.6%. That ranks 77th 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, Hardin County recorded 131 births and 331 deaths, a natural change of -200. Net international migration added -4 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +106. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 200 people.

Where Hardin County is

The Census internal point of Hardin County is at 37.517900, -88.266100. 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 Hardin County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Hardin County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Hardin County. Its 3,550 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Hardin County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Hardin County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is Saline County, IL, with 22,826 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Saline County

  22,826 people

  22 mi NW

• KY

  Union County, KY

  13,178 people

  20 mi ENE

• KY

  Crittenden County, KY

  8,982 people

  14 mi SE

• KY

  Livingston County, KY

  8,815 people

  22 mi SSW

• Gallatin County

  4,690 people

  17 mi N

• Pope County

  3,703 people

  17 mi WSW

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 173.3 miles NNW of Hardin County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Evansville, IN (population 115,395), 51.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Paducah, KY (population 26,712), 37.2 miles away.

Hardin County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Hardin County is 17069: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 069. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,216.