Stephenson County, Illinois

Stephenson County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 48,979. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,463 (565 ). 1,461 km² (564 sq mi) of it is land and 1 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.10%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

History
Stephenson County was formed in 1837 out of and. The County was named for Colonel, an official of the.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 48,979 people, 19,785 households, and 13,473 families residing in the county. The was 34/km² (87/sq mi). There were 21,713 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (38/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.29%, 7.68% or , 0.15% , 0.68% , 0.04% , 0.63% from , and 1.53% from two or more races. 1.53% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 19,785 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,366, and the median income for a family was $48,510. Males had a median income of $36,300 versus $24,238 for females. The for the county was $19,794. About 6.50% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the, including 11.60% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.