Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 16,179. Its county seat is Fairfield. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as "Little Egypt".
History
Wayne County was formed in 1819 out of Edwards County. It is named after Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne, an officer in the Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Fairfield have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1901. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in April.
Transit
Rides Mass Transit District
Major highways
Interstate 64
U.S. Highway 45
Illinois Route 15
Illinois Route 242
Adjacent counties
Clay County (north) Richland County (northeast) Edwards County (east) White County (southeast) Hamilton County (south) Jefferson County (southwest) Marion County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,760 people, 7,102 households, and 4,853 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 7,975 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.0% were German, 14.1% were English, 12.7% were American, and 9.8% were Irish.
Of the 7,102 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 42.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,207 and the median income for a family was $47,879. Males had a median income of $34,800 versus $27,192 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,493. About 9.9% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
City
Fairfield
Villages
Cisne
Golden Gate
Jeffersonville
Johnsonville
Keenes
Mount Erie
Sims
Wayne City
Unincorporated communities
Barnhill
Ellery
Mayberry
Rinard
Wynoose
Zenith
Townships
Wayne County is divided into these 20 townships:
Arrington
Barnhill
Bedford
Berry
Big Mound
Elm River
Four Mile
Garden Hill
Grover
Hickory Hill
Indian Prairie
Jasper
Keith
Lamard
Leech
Massilon
Mount Erie
Orchard
Orel
Zif
Program 1033 Acquisitions
According to Department of Defense data, Wayne County has received six 5.56MM rifles and three "Utility Trucks" with a total acquisition cost of $120,705.