Jersey County, Illinois

Jersey County is a located in the  of. Jersey County is part of the. As of 2000, the population was 21,668, and the population was 22,628 at the 2006 unofficial census. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 976 (377 ). 956 km² (369 sq mi) of it is land and 20 km² (8 sq mi) of it (or 2.08%) is water. Jersey County is bordered by the to the south, the  to the west, and  to the northwest.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - west

Major highways

 * [[Image:US_67.svg|25x20px]]
 * [[Image:Illinois_100.svg|25x20px]]
 * [[Image:Illinois_267.svg|25x20px]][[Image:Illinois_111.svg|25x20px]] /

History
Jersey County lies just northeast of where the great and  rivers meet. It is the former home of the, , , and Indians. The first European explorers to visit the area, and, arrived in  , where they encountered the fearsome painting of the  bird. The present day, located near , is named in Father Marquette's honor.

Jersey County was founded on, , and was formed out of. The county was named for the state of, from which many of the early settlers emigrated - which was itself named for the of  in. The area quickly evolved into several small agricultural communities. As the area soon began to flourish, a county government was established and a courthouse was built in Jerseyville, the county seat. The present courthouse is a magnificent architectural structure that was built in.

Today, while the county maintains its agricultural base, it is within commuting distance of jobs and industry in, and the surrounding area. A large portion of the population works outside of Jersey County and benefits from being "Near the crowd, but not in it.", the official slogan of the Jersey County Business Association's advertising campaign. The bordering rivers play an important part in Jersey County's economy by supporting agricultural producers and, and by creating a strong tourist market. Education, manufacturing, and retail are among the county's largest industries.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 21,668 people, 8,096 households, and 5,861 families residing in the county. The was 23/km² (59/sq mi). There were 8,918 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (24/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.13%, 0.53% or , 0.20% , 0.25% , 0.03% , 0.15% from , and 0.70% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 8,096 households, out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,065, and the median income for a family was $49,666. Males had a median income of $38,771 versus $23,086 for females. The for the county was $19,581. About 5.30% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the, including 8.70% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Unified school districts

 * - serves most of Jersey County, and a small portion of southern.
 * Southwestern Community Unit School District No. 9 - serves the northeastern and southeastern portions of Jersey County, along with southwestern.

High Schools

 * , located in.

Colleges and Universities

 * , located near.

Townships by population
2006 estimates:
 * - 9,833
 * - 3,142
 * - 2,456
 * - 2,053
 * - 1,216
 * - 959
 * - 756
 * - 732
 * - 544
 * - 506
 * - 431