• county
  • FIPS 17173
  • Largest town: Shelbyville

Shelby County, Illinois

Shelby County had 20,542 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 758.5 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 102 in Illinois by population and 18th by land area.

Population
20,542
#56 of 102 in Illinois · #1,799 in US
Area
758.5 sq mi
#18 of 102 in Illinois · #1,156 in US
Density
27 / sq mi
#79 of 102 in Illinois · #2,009 in US
Median household income
$68,618
#43 of 102 in Illinois · #1,093 in US

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

Shelby County within Illinois. Pin: Springfield.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Shelby County

Shelby County population, land area and income

Shelby County had 20,542 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 758.5 square miles of land. It ranks 56th of 102 in Illinois by population and 18th by land area. That works out to 27.1 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; Shelby County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $68,618 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

20,542

3144th1st

1799th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

759 sq mi

3144th1st

1156th of 3,144 (US)

Density

27.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

2009th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$68,618

3143rd1st

1093rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Illinois (102)

Population

20,542

102nd1st

56th of 102 (IL)

Land area

759 sq mi

102nd1st

18th of 102 (IL)

Density

27.1 / sq mi

102nd1st

79th of 102 (IL)

Median household income

$68,618

102nd1st

43rd of 102 (IL)

How Shelby County's population changed since 2020

Shelby County lost 365 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.7%. That ranks 53rd 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, Shelby County recorded 855 births and 1,233 deaths, a natural change of -378. Net international migration added +14 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -65. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 378 people.

20.9k202020.9k202120.7k202220.6k202320.5k2024
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
855
Deaths
1,233
Net international migration
+14
Net domestic migration
-65
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-51

Where Shelby County is

The Census internal point of Shelby County is at 39.384900, -88.798900. 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 Shelby 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: Shelby County internal point. Dark pin: Springfield.

Internal point

Decimal
39.384900, -88.798900
DMS
39°23'5.64"N 88°47'56.04"W
UTM
16N 345072.5E 4361034.3N
Geohash
dp0b53f9e
Plus code
86FH96M2+XC

Towns in Shelby County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Shelby County, 7,394 people together, or 36% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Shelby County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Shelbyville with 4,540.

  1. 01Shelbyville4,540
  2. 02Moweaqua (part)1,715
  3. 03Windsor1,037
  4. 04Pana (part)102
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Shelby County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Shelby County. The most populous is Macon County, IL, with 100,737 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Springfield and the nearest big city

Springfield is 52.9 miles WNW of Shelby County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Springfield, IL (population 112,949), 53.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Effingham, IL (population 12,434), 22.6 miles away.

Shelby County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Shelby County is 17173: state code 17 for Illinois plus county code 173. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $68,618.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Shelby County, Illinois?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 20,542. That is down 365 people (1.7%) from the July 2020 estimate of 20,907.

What is the FIPS code of Shelby County?

17173. The first two digits (17) are Illinois; the last three (173) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Shelby County?

Shelbyville, with 4,540 residents inside Shelby County in 2024.

Which counties border Shelby County?

8 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Macon County, IL; Coles County, IL; Effingham County, IL; Christian County, IL; Montgomery County, IL; Fayette County, IL; Moultrie County, IL; Cumberland 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.