Morton, Illinois

Morton is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, USA, known for its pumpkins and annual Pumpkin Festival. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. Morton, the home of a Caterpillar distribution facility and a Libby's pumpkin plant, is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Morton is also home to the corporate headquarters of Morton Buildings Inc. It holds its annual Morton Pumpkin Festival in the second week of September.

Geography
Morton is located at 40.61167°N, -89.46333°W (40.611571, -89.463310).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.2 square miles (31.7 km²), of which, 12.2 square miles (31.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.33%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,198 people, 6,021 households, and 4,244 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,247.6 people per square mile (481.8/km²). There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 517.1 per square mile (199.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.87% White, 0.13% African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 6,021 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,869, and the median income for a family was $62,935. Males had a median income of $51,845 versus $30,973 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,531. About 2.8% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Schools
Morton Community Unit School District 709 is the private local public school district; it has one high school (Morton High School), one junior high school for grades seven and eight, and four primary schools for preschool through grade six. Private schools in the village are Blessed Sacrement and Bethel Lutheran, both grade schools with preschool through eighth grade.