Kane County, Illinois facts for kids

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Kane County

County

The Fabyan Windmill in Geneva is on the National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois.

Flag

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Illinois

Illinois's location within the U.S.

Country

United States

State

Illinois

Founded

January 16, 1836

Elias Kane

Largest city

Area

• Total

524 sq mi (1,360 km²)

• Land

520 sq mi (1,300 km²)

• Water

4.1 sq mi (11 km²) 0.8%

Population

(2020)

• Total

516,522

• Estimate

(2023)

514,982

• Density

985.7/sq mi (380.6/km²)

Time zone

UTC−6 (Central)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−5 (CDT)

Congressional districts

8th, 11th, 14th

Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 516,522, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is one of the collar counties of the metropolitan statistical area designated "Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI" by the US census.

History

Kane County was formed out of LaSalle County in 1836. The county was named in honor of Elias Kane, a United States senator and the first secretary of state of Illinois.

Kane County from the time of its creation to 1837, when DeKalb County was split off
Kane County between 1837 and 1841
Kane County in 1841, reduced to its present size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's area was 524 square miles (1,360 km²), of which 520 square miles (1,300 km²) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km²) (0.8%) is water. Its largest cities are along the Fox River.

Climate

Weather chart for Geneva, Illinois

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3.9

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3.5

2.7

3.2

2.4

temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches
source: The Weather Channel

Metric conversion

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
41 -2 -12	39 2 -9	65 8 -3	99 15 2	99 22 8	110 27 13	112 29 16	111 28 14	89 24 10	69 17 3	81 8 -2	61 1 -9
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Geneva have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 111 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. The average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.52 inches (39 mm) in February to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in July.

Adjacent counties

McHenry County (north)
Cook County (east)
DuPage County (east)
Will County (southeast)
Kendall County (south)
DeKalb County (west)

Parks and recreation

Fox River Trail
Great Western Trail
Illinois Prairie Path
James "Pate" Philip State Park

Forest preserves

Kane County has an extensive forest preserve program, with numerous nature preserves, historic sites, and trails.

Almon Underwood Prairie
Andersen Woods
Arlene Shoemaker
Aurora West
Barnes
Big Rock Forest Preserve & Campground
Binnie Forest Preserve
Blackberry Maples
Bliss Woods
Bolcum Road Wetlands
Bowes Creek Greenway Forest Preserve
Bowes Creek Woods Forest Preserve
Braeburn Marsh
Brewster Creek Forest Preserve
Brunner Family
Buffalo Park Forest Preserve
Burlington Prairie
Burnidge Forest Preserve/Paul Wolff Campground
Camp Tomo Chi-Chi Knolls
Campton
Cardinal Creek
Culver
Deer Valley Golf Course
Dick Young
Eagles Forest Preserve
Edgewater Greenway Forest Preserve
Elburn Forest Preserve
Elgin Shores
Fabyan
Ferson Creek
Fitchie Creek
Fox River Bluff East & Fox River Bluff West
Fox River Forested Fen Forest Preserve
Fox River Shores
Freeman Kame – Meagher
Glenwood Park Forest Preserve
Grunwald Farms
Gunnar Anderson
Hampshire Forest Preserve
Hampshire South Forest Preserve
Hannaford Woods/Nickels Farm
Helm Woods
Hoscheit Woods Forest Preserve
Hughes Creek Golf Club
Jack E. Cook Park & Forest Preserve
Jelkes Creek
Johnson's Mound
Jon J. Duerr
Kenyon Farm
Lake Run Forest Preserve
LeRoy Oakes
Les Arends
Lone Grove Forest Preserve
McLean Fen Forest Preserve
Meissner Prairie – Corron
Mill Creek
Muirhead Springs
New Haven Park
Oakhurst
Otter Creek
Pingree Grove Forest Preserve
Poplar Creek
Prairie Green
Raceway Woods
Raymond Street
Regole
Rutland Forest Preserve
Sauer Family Prairie Kame
Schweitzer Woods
Settler's Hill
Sleepy Hollow Ravine
Tekakwitha Woods
Tyler Creek Forest Preserve
Virgil Forest Preserve
Voyageur's Landing
Willoughby Farms

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	6,501	—
1850	16,703	156.9%
1860	30,062	80.0%
1870	39,091	30.0%
1880	44,939	15.0%
1890	65,061	44.8%
1900	78,792	21.1%
1910	91,862	16.6%
1920	99,499	8.3%
1930	125,327	26.0%
1940	130,206	3.9%
1950	150,388	15.5%
1960	208,246	38.5%
1970	251,005	20.5%
1980	278,405	10.9%
1990	317,471	14.0%
2000	404,119	27.3%
2010	515,269	27.5%
2020	516,522	0.2%
2023 (est.)	514,982	−0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2019

2000 census age pyramid for Kane County

**Kane County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	273,390	304,051	282,307	67.65%	59.01%	54.66%
Black or African American alone (NH)	22,477	27,819	26,239	5.56%	5.40%	5.08%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	536	591	514	0.13%	0.11%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	7,142	17,505	21,191	1.77%	3.40%	4.10%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	57	130	115	0.01%	0.03%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	338	522	1,521	0.08%	0.10%	0.29%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	4,255	6,261	15,040	1.05%	1.22%	2.91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	95,924	158,390	169,595	23.74%	30.74%	32.83%
Total	404,119	515,269	516,522	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2010 census, there were 515,269 people, 170,479 households, and 128,323 families residing in the county. The population density was 990.8 inhabitants per square mile (382.6/km²). There were 182,047 housing units at an average density of 350.1 per square mile (135.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.6% white, 5.7% black or African American, 3.5% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 13.0% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 30.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.3% were German, 13.0% were Irish, 7.9% were Polish, 7.4% were Italian, 7.1% were English, and 2.4% were American.

Of the 170,479 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.7% were non-families, and 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.45. The median age was 34.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $67,767 and the median income for a family was $77,998. Males had a median income of $53,833 versus $39,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,480. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Aurora University
Elgin Community College
Judson University
Waubonsee Community College

Infrastructure

Transportation

Transit

Metra
BNSF Line
Milwaukee District West Line
Union Pacific West Line
Pace
Pace I-90 Express

Airport

Aurora Municipal Airport

Major highways

Kane county has an extensive county highway system that includes federal, state and county maintained routes. During the years that the county was represented by Dennis Hastert it received many federal earmarks for highway improvements to respond to population growth. In addition, the county has entered into an agreement with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to operate a limited access toll bridge on the Longmeadow Parkway that is not connected to any other tollway.