Boone County, Illinois

Boone County, Illinois
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1837
Seat	Belvidere
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	281.94 sq mi (730 km²) 281.27 sq mi (728 km²) 0.68 sq mi (2 km²), 0.24%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	54,165 148/sq mi (57/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.boonecountyil.org

Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,165. Its county seat is Belvidere, Illinois.

Boone County is one of two counties included in the Rockford, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is adjacent to the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Boone County was formed in 1837 out of Winnebago County. It was named for Kentucky frontiersman Daniel Boone.

Boone County at the time of its creation in 1837

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 281.94 square miles (730.2 km²), of which 281.27 square miles (728.5 km²) (or 99.76%) is land and 0.68 square miles (1.8 km²) (or 0.24%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Rock County, Wisconsin - north
• Walworth County, Wisconsin - northeast
• McHenry County - east
• DeKalb County - south
• Ogle County - southwest
• Winnebago County - west

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• US Route 20
• Illinois Route 76
• Illinois Route 173

Cities and towns

• Belvidere
• Caledonia
• Capron
• Cherry Valley (east quarter)
• Garden Prairie
• Loves Park (east edge)
• Poplar Grove
• Timberlane

Townships

Boone County is divided into these nine townships:

Belvidere Bonus Boone Caledonia Flora

Leroy Manchester Poplar Grove Spring

School districts

• Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
• Harvard Community Unit School District 50
• Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426
• North Boone Community Unit School District 200
• Rockford School District 205

Political districts

• Illinois' 16th congressional district
• State House District 69
• State Senate District 35

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	15,791		—
1910	15,481		−2.0%
1920	15,322		−1.0%
1930	15,078		−1.6%
1940	15,202		0.8%
1950	17,070		12.3%
1960	20,326		19.1%
1970	25,440		25.2%
1980	28,630		12.5%
1990	30,806		7.6%
2000	41,786		35.6%
2010	54,165		29.6%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census of 2000, there were 41,786 people, 14,597 households, and 11,254 families residing in the county. The population density was 149 people per square mile (57/km²). There were 15,414 housing units at an average density of 55 per square mile (21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.09% White, 0.90% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 6.67% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. 12.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.9% were of German, 9.6% Irish, 7.5% English, 6.2% Italian, 6.1% Swedish, 6.1% American and 5.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.9% spoke English and 11.1% Spanish as their first language. The student population stands at roughly 5000, with 3000 of them being in a high school designed for 1800 students. In 2008 Belvidere North High School was opened to offset the overcrowding at Belvidere High School.

2000 census age pyramid for Boone County.

There were 14,597 households out of which 40.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.90% were non-families. 19.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.80% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,397, and the median income for a family was $59,305. Males had a median income of $41,992 versus $25,695 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,590. About 5.10% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.70% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

Climate and weather

Climate chart for Belvidere, Illinois
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
1.48   28 11	1.29   33 16	2.42   45 26	3.71   59 37	4.10   71 47	4.56   81 57	3.86   85 62	4.47   82 60	3.32   75 51	2.61   63 39	2.69   47 29	1.97   33 17
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: The Weather Channel

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Belvidere have ranged from a low of 11 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−33.9 °C) was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of 109 °F (43 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.29 inches (33 mm) in February to 4.56 inches (116 mm) in June.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Boone County, Illinois

References

• United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
• United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)
• United States National Atlas