| County: | Ford County |
| State: | Illinois |
| Ex Image: | Ford County Courthouse in Paxton.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Ford County Courthouse in Paxton |
| Founded: | February 17, 1859 |
| Seat Wl: | Paxton |
| Largest City: | Paxton |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 486 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 486 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.6 |
| Area Percentage: | 0.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 13534 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 13250 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Central |
| Web: | www.fordcountycourthouse.com |
| District: | 2nd |
| District2: | 16th |
| Named For: | Thomas Ford |
Ford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 13,534.[1] Its county seat is Paxton.[2] Ford County was part of the Champaign–Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area until 2018, when the Office of Management and Budget removed the county from the area.[3] [4]
Ford County was formed February 17, 1859, making it Illinois's "newest" county. It was created at the behest of some residents of Vermilion County, who complained to the General Assembly that they lived too far from the county seat. Ford County was named after Thomas Ford, the Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846.[5]
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.1%) is water.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paxton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,081 people, 5,676 households, and 3,798 families living in the county.[6] The population density was . There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of .[7] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 0.6% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population.[6] In terms of ancestry, 35.7% were German, 15.5% were Irish, 13.6% were American, and 10.4% were English.[8]
Of the 5,676 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.4 years.[6]
The median income for a household in the county was $48,667 and the median income for a family was $62,819. Males had a median income of $43,849 versus $30,136 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,401. About 5.4% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.[9]
Ford County is one of the state's most consistently Republican counties; since its 1859 organization it has voted for Republican presidential candidates in all but two elections. In 1912, the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over the more conservative official nominee William Howard Taft; in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first of his four campaigns became and has remained the only Democrat to carry Ford County. Since 1968 no Democratic presidential candidate has topped 36% of the county's vote, and since the county first formed only three Democrats – all in landslide national victories – have managed 40% of Ford County's votes.
After the Libertarian Party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. At the time this made Ford County the only county in Illinois with three established parties. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission.[10] This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.[11]
President Gerald Ford visited Ford County on October 24, 1974, to mark the retirement of Congressman Leslie C. Arends of Melvin who served in Congress for 40 years, including over 30 years as Republican Minority Whip.[12]