Fayette County, Illinois

Fayette County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 21,802. Its is.

History
Fayette County was formed in out of,  and. It was named in honor of the, French hero of the American.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,879 (725 ). 1,856 km² (716 sq mi) of it is land and 23 km² (9 sq mi) of it (1.22%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 21,802 people, 8,146 households, and 5,653 families residing in the county. The was 12/km² (30/sq mi). There were 9,053 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.02%, 4.88% or , 0.12% , 0.17% , 0.02% , 0.25% from , and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 8,146 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 108.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,873, and the median income for a family was $39,044. Males had a median income of $29,478 versus $20,254 for females. The for the county was $15,357. About 8.40% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.