Richland County was established in 1841 out of portions of East part of Clay and West part of Lawrence counties.[4] It was named for Richland County, Ohio, where many of the early settlers migrated from.[3]: Origin of the name of the county
Richland County at the time of its creation in 1841
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 362 square miles (940 km2), of which 360 square miles (930 km2) is land[5]: Population tab, Population Density sub-tab and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2) (0.5%) is water.[6]
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Olney have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 88 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in February 1951 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.73 inches (69 mm) in February to 4.76 inches (121 mm) in May.[7]
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2013[13] 2020[5]
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,233 people, 6,726 households, and 4,438 families residing in the county.[14] By 2020, the population had decreased to 15,813 people.[5]: Population tab, Population Density sub-tab The 2010 population density was 45.1 inhabitants per square mile (17.4/km2), which decreased to 43.1 inhabitants per square mile (16.6/km2) in the 2020 census.[5]: Population tab, Population Density sub-tab In 2010, there were 7,513 housing units, compared to 7,364 in 2020,[5]: Housing tab, Occupied Units sub-tab at an average density of 20.9 per square mile (8.1/km2).[6] The 2010 racial makeup of the county was 97.3% white (94.2%, 2020), 0.7% Asian (0.8%, 2020), 0.5% black or African American (same, 2020), 0.2% American Indian (same, 2020), 0.4% (0.5%, 2020) from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races (3.7%, 2020).[5]: for 2020—Race alone tab, all sub-tabs Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% (1.7%, 2020) of the population.[5]: Hispanic Origin tab, Hispanic or Latino sub-tab [14] In terms of ancestry, 29.6% were German, 11.7% were American, 11.4% were English, and 9.2% were Irish.[15]
Of the 6,726 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.0% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.1 years.[14]
The median income for a household in the county was $41,917 and the median income for a family was $53,853. Males had a median income of $41,058 versus $31,296 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,874. About 9.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.[16] Richland is the top ranked most affordable county in Illinois to buy a car and is on average $932 less expensive than other Illinois counties.[17]
