Perry County, Illinois

Perry County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 23,094. Its is.

Geography
Perry County is located in Southwestern Illinois. Pinckneyville, at the center of the county, is approximately 70 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri and 300 miles southwest of Chicago. The lies about 30 miles west of the County.

According to the, the county has a total area of 1,157 (447 ). 1,142 km² (441 sq mi) of it is land and 15 km² (6 sq mi) of it (1.31%) is water.

The County's topography is mainly flat with some rolling hills. The part of the County's eastern border, the part shared with, is formed by the. runs north to south through the County and lies just east of Pinckneyville.

The county's topography also features many "strip cut" lakes, lakes left behind following above-ground coal mining. Lakes at two of the county's chief recreation areas, the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and, were formed this way.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west

History
Perry County was formed in out of  and. It was named in honor of who defeated the British fleet at the decisive  in the.

In its early history, Perry County was mainly an inland pioneer outpost. Early settlers, including some veterans bearing land grants, moved here from the Eastern United States. These were primarily Protestant settlers. Growth boomed in the 1850s for two reasons: construction of the Illinois Central Railroad through the eastern portion of the county, and the discovery of large coal reserves. Immigrants from, , , and elsewhere steadily increased the County's population from  through the s.  African Americans also were established in the County during northward migration following the.

Mining continued to be the dominant employment sector through the 1990s, when regulations devastated the Illinois coal economy.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 23,094 people, 8,504 households, and 5,842 families residing in the county. The was 20/km² (52/sq mi). There were 9,457 housing units at an average density of 8/km² (21/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.55%, 8.02% or , 0.23% , 0.28% , 0.04% , 1.09% from , and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.76% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 8,504 households out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.60% 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 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 113.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,281, and the median income for a family was $41,064. Males had a median income of $29,169 versus $20,170 for females. The for the county was $15,935. About 10.10% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the, including 16.50% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.