• county
  • FIPS 17115
  • Largest town: Decatur

Macon County, Illinois

Macon County had 100,737 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 580.6 square miles of land. It ranks 20th of 102 in Illinois by population and 38th by land area.

Population
100,737
#20 of 102 in Illinois · #619 in US
Area
580.6 sq mi
#38 of 102 in Illinois · #1,696 in US
Density
174 / sq mi
#17 of 102 in Illinois · #616 in US
Median household income
$61,033
#76 of 102 in Illinois · #1,737 in US

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

Macon County within Illinois. Pin: Springfield.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Macon County

Macon County population, land area and income

Macon County had 100,737 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 580.6 square miles of land. It ranks 20th of 102 in Illinois by population and 38th by land area. That works out to 173.5 people per square mile, 1.8 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Illinois has 24,447 residents, so Macon County is 4.1 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $61,033 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

100,737

3144th1st

619th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

581 sq mi

3144th1st

1696th of 3,144 (US)

Density

173.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

616th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$61,033

3143rd1st

1737th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Illinois (102)

Population

100,737

102nd1st

20th of 102 (IL)

Land area

581 sq mi

102nd1st

38th of 102 (IL)

Density

173.5 / sq mi

102nd1st

17th of 102 (IL)

Median household income

$61,033

102nd1st

76th of 102 (IL)

How Macon County's population changed since 2020

Macon County lost 3,027 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 2.9%. That ranks 79th 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, Macon County recorded 4,968 births and 5,903 deaths, a natural change of -935. Net international migration added +994 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -3,318. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 3,318 people.

103.8k2020102.6k2021101.4k2022100.8k2023100.7k2024
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
4,968
Deaths
5,903
Net international migration
+994
Net domestic migration
-3,318
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-17

Where Macon County is

The Census internal point of Macon County is at 39.860200, -88.961500. 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 Macon 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: Macon County internal point. Dark pin: Springfield.

Internal point

Decimal
39.860200, -88.961500
DMS
39°51'36.72"N 88°57'41.40"W
UTM
16N 332220.1E 4414082.0N
Geohash
dp0dz8k4q
Plus code
86FHV26Q+3C

Towns in Macon County

9 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Macon County, 85,660 people together, or 85% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Macon County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Decatur with 68,763.

  1. 01Decatur68,763
  2. 02Mount Zion5,897
  3. 03Forsyth3,656
  4. 04Maroa1,533
  5. 05Harristown1,270
  6. 06Long Creek1,232
  7. 07Macon1,133
  8. 08Blue Mound1,090
  9. 09Warrensburg1,086
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Macon County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Macon County. The most populous is Sangamon County, IL, with 194,345 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 36.9 miles W of Macon County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Springfield, IL (population 112,949), 36.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Decatur, IL (population 68,763), 1.5 miles away.

Macon County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Macon County is 17115: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 115. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $61,033.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Macon County, Illinois?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 100,737. That is down 3,027 people (2.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 103,764.

What is the FIPS code of Macon County?

17115. The first two digits (17) are Illinois; the last three (115) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Macon County?

Decatur, with 68,763 residents inside Macon County in 2024.

Which counties border Macon County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Sangamon County, IL; Christian County, IL; Logan County, IL; Shelby County, IL; Piatt County, IL; De Witt County, IL; Moultrie 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.