Macoupin County, Illinois

Macoupin County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 49,019. Its is. It is Part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,247 (868 ). 2,237 km² (864 sq mi) of it is land and 10 km² (4 sq mi) of it (0.47%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west
 * - west
 * - northwest

History
Macoupin County was formed in out of  and. The name is a word said to mean "white potato". The, however, was not cultivated in North America in pre-Columbian times. This could be a reference to, a plant with an edible root that grows in wetlands in Illinois. Another possibility is the, which also has a root that was used as a food source by Native Americans. The name probably derives from, which flows through the County. In 2005, the Census Bureau included the County in the St. Louis MSA due to increased commuting patterns and employement in St. Louis and the Metro-East.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 49,019 people, 19,253 households, and 13,631 families residing in the county. The was 22/km² (57/sq mi). There were 21,097 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (24/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.99%, 0.82% or , 0.22% , 0.18% , 0.03% , 0.15% from , and 0.61% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 19,253 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,190, and the median income for a family was $43,021. Males had a median income of $34,369 versus $22,293 for females. The for the county was $17,298. About 7.10% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.