DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County
County
Official seal of DeKalb County Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°53′N 88°46′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1836
Seat	Sycamore
Area
• Total	634 sq mi (1,640 km2)
• Water	1 sq mi (3 km2)  0.13%
Population  (2000)
• Total	88,969
• Density	140/sq mi (54/km2)
Website	www.dekalbcounty.org

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2000, the population was 88,969. As of 2006, the population is estimated at 100,139. Its county seat is Sycamore, Illinois⁶. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 635 square miles (1,645 km²), of which, 634 square miles (1,642 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.13%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

• Boone County - north
• McHenry County - northeast
• Kane County - east
• Kendall County - southeast
• LaSalle County - south
• Lee County - west
• Ogle County - west
• Winnebago County - northwest

History

DeKalb County Population by year

2000 - 88,969 1990 - 77,932 1980 - 74,624 1970 - 71,654 1960 - 51,714 1950 - 40,781 1940 - 34,388 1930 - 32,644 1920 - 31,339 1910 - 33,457 1900 - 31,756 1890 - 27,066 1880 - 26,768 1870 - 23,265 1860 - 19,086 1850 - 7,540 1840 - 1,697

DeKalb County was formed in 1837 out of Kane County, Illinois. The County was named in honor of Johann de Kalb a German (Bavarian) hero of the American Revolutionary War. Kalb was with Gen. Washington at Valley Forge. He was killed at the Battle of Camden.

Demographics

2000 census age pyramid for DeKalb County.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 88,969 people, 31,674 households, and 19,954 families residing in the county. The population density was 140 people per square mile (54/km²). There were 32,988 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.46% White, 4.59% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 2.74% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. 6.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 31,674 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.90% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.00% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 22.00% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 17.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,828, and the median income for a family was $58,194. Males had a median income of $41,111 versus $26,690 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,462. About 5.10% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.10% of those under age 18 and 4.50% of those age 65 or over.

Townships

DeKalb County's Legislative Center.

DeKalb County is divided into nineteen townships:

Afton Clinton Cortland DeKalb Franklin

Genoa Kingston Malta Mayfield Milan

Paw Paw Pierce Sandwich Shabbona Somonauk

South Grove Squaw Grove Sycamore Victor

Cities and towns

• Cortland
• DeKalb
• Genoa
• Hinckley
• Kingston
• Kirkland
• Lee
• Malta
• Maple Park - Mostly in Kane County, Illinois
• Sandwich
• Shabbona
• Somonauk
• Sycamore
• Waterman

Pronunciation

Area residents pronounce the county name, as well as the name of the city of DeKalb, /dɨˈkeɪlb/ "di-KAYLB" with the L sound, unlike similarly spelled locations where the L is silent, such as DeKalb County, Georgia.

External links

• History pages for DeKalb County towns and cities
• De Kalb County at Curlie
• DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau

References

• Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)