Kankakee County, Illinois Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Kankakee County
U.S. county
Kankakee County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	February 11, 1853
Named for	Kankakee River
Seat	Kankakee
Largest city	Kankakee
Area
• Total	681 sq mi (1,760 km²)
• Land	677 sq mi (1,750 km²)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km²) 0.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	107,502
• Density	157.86/sq mi (60.95/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd

Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,502. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Geography
- Climate and weather
- Adjacent counties
Demographics
Communities
Education
Transportation
- Major highways
See also

History

Starting in the 1770s, if not earlier, the area that is now Kankakee County was largely populated by the Potawatomi.

French Canadian Settlers came to Kankakee County in 1834, after the federal government signed the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. They were soon joined by migrants from New York and Vermont, mostly locating in Momence, Illinois. In the 1840s, most of the migrants were French Canadians, and they settled in such places as Bourbonnais.

An act of the Illinois Legislature created Kankakee County out of the north part of Iroquois County and the south part of Will County in February 1853. The six original townships were Yellowhead, Rockville, Bourbonnais, Momence, Aroma Park, and Limestone. The population of the new county was about 8,000. In 1855 the two western townships (Norton and Essex) were taken from Vermilion County and added to Kankakee County. The county was named for the Kankakee River.

Kankakee County at the time of its creation in 1853

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 681 square miles (1,760 km²), of which 677 square miles (1,750 km²) (99.3%) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Climate and weather

Weather chart for Kankakee, Illinois

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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
45 -1 -11	41 3 -8	71 9 -2	97 16 3	115 23 9	113 28 15	111 30 17	79 29 16	88 26 11	69 18 4	85 10 -1	66 2 -7
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Kankakee have ranged from a low of 12 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −29 °F (−34 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 107 °F (42 °C) was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.62 inches (41 mm) in February to 4.54 inches (115 mm) in May.

Adjacent counties

Will County – north
Lake County, Indiana – northeast
Newton County, Indiana – east
Iroquois County – south
Ford County – southwest
Livingston County – west
Grundy County – northwest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	15,412	—
1870	24,352	58.0%
1880	25,047	2.9%
1890	28,732	14.7%
1900	37,154	29.3%
1910	40,752	9.7%
1920	44,920	10.2%
1930	50,095	11.5%
1940	60,877	21.5%
1950	73,524	20.8%
1960	92,063	25.2%
1970	97,250	5.6%
1980	102,926	5.8%
1990	96,255	−6.5%
2000	103,833	7.9%
2010	113,449	9.3%
2020	107,502	−5.2%
2023 (est.)	105,940	−6.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010

2000 census age pyramid for Kankakee County

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 113,449 people, 41,511 households, and 28,680 families residing in the county. The population density was 167.7 inhabitants per square mile (64.7/km²). There were 45,246 housing units at an average density of 66.9 per square mile (25.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.6% white, 15.1% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 4.0% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 9.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.5% were German, 14.2% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 6.7% were Italian, 5.8% were Polish, and 3.6% were American.

Of the 41,511 households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.9% were non-families, and 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13. The median age was 36.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,484 and the median income for a family was $59,998. Males had a median income of $49,858 versus $32,247 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,888. About 10.8% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated Communities

Ahern
Altorf
Deselm
Dickeys
Exline
Garden of Eden
Goodrich
Greenwich
Illiana Heights
Illinoi (partial)
Indian Oaks
Leesville
Lehigh
Log Cabin Camp
Saint George
Sherburnville
Sollitt
Sugar Island
Whitaker
Wichert

Townships

Kankakee County is divided into seventeen townships:

Aroma
Bourbonnais
Essex
Ganeer
Kankakee
Limestone
Manteno
Momence
Norton
Otto
Pembroke
Pilot
Rockville
St. Anne
Salina
Sumner
Yellowhead

Education

The county is home to Olivet Nazarene University and Kankakee Community College.

Transportation

Kankakee County is served by the Greater Kankakee Airport. Amtrak runs train service through the city via Kankakee station. The station serves the Illini and Saluki trains to Carbondale as well as the City of New Orleans. The city of Kankakee has local public transit service provided by the River Valley Metro Mass Transit District. Momence and rural Kankakee county are served by SHOW Bus.