Kane County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kane County
County
County of Kane
The Fabyan Windmill in Geneva is on the National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois.
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
Named for	Elias Kane
Seat	Geneva
Largest city	Aurora
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  (2010)
• Total	515,269
• Estimate  (2019)	532,403
• Density	983.3/sq mi (379.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	6th, 8th, 11th, 14th

Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 515,269, 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, United States Senator from Illinois, 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

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)

Forest preserves

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

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for Kane County

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.

Communities

Cities

• Aurora (mostly)
• Batavia (mostly)
• Elgin (mostly)
• Geneva
• St. Charles (mostly)

Villages

Census-designated place

• Prestbury

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

Education

• Aurora University
• Elgin Community College
• Judson University
• Waubonsee Community College

Infrastructure

Transportation

• Metra
• Pace

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.

• Interstate 88
• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 20
• U.S. Highway 30
• U.S. Highway 34
• Illinois Route 19
• Illinois Route 25
• Illinois Route 31
• Illinois Route 38
• Illinois Route 47
• Illinois Route 56
• Illinois Route 58
• Illinois Route 62
• Illinois Route 64
• Illinois Route 68
• Illinois Route 72
• Illinois Route 110
• Kane County Route 17
• Randall Road

Notable people

• Patricia Golden
• Frank D. Weir