Pope County, Illinois

Pope County population, land area and income

Pope County had 3,703 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 368.9 square miles of land. It ranks 101st of 102 in Illinois by population and 82nd by land area. That works out to 10.0 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Illinois has 24,447 residents, so Pope County has 15% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $58,093 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Pope County's population changed since 2020

Pope County lost 55 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.5%. That ranks 44th 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, Pope County recorded 89 births and 267 deaths, a natural change of -178. Net international migration added +5 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +108. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 178 people.

Where Pope County is

The Census internal point of Pope County is at 37.417200, -88.542400. 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 Pope County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Pope County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Pope County. Its 3,703 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Pope County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Pope County, including 1 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

  23 mi N

• Massac County

  13,627 people

  17 mi SSW

• Johnson County

  13,320 people

  19 mi W

• KY

  Livingston County, KY

  8,815 people

  17 mi SE

• Hardin County

  3,550 people

  17 mi ENE

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 173.9 miles NNW of Pope County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Evansville, IN (population 115,395), 67.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Paducah, KY (population 26,712), 24.6 miles away.

Pope County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Pope County is 17151: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 151. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $58,093.