Brown County, Illinois Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Brown County, Illinois, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Brown County, Illinois. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Brown County, Illinois. The estimated population of Brown County, Illinois is 6,330 people, with a median age of 38.1.

We can look at the total population in Brown County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
6,330
 -4.08% -6.79%
2020
6,599
 -0.44% -
2019
6,628
 -0.7% -
2018
6,675
 -1.71% -
2017
6,791
 - -

Population of Brown County, Illinois by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
73.3%
73.6%
 -0.41%
Black/African American
18.3%
21.3%
 -14.08%
Native
0.5%
0%
 0.00%
Hispanic
6.9%
3.6%
 +91.67%
Asian
0%
0.6%
 -100.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1%
0.8%
 +25.00%
Other
0%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Brown County, Illinois by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 38.1 -2.06% 36.3 -4.47% 40 -0.5%
2020 38.9 0% 38 -0.26% 40.2 -1.71%
2019 38.9 -0.26% 38.1 -1.04% 40.9 -0.24%
2018 39 +0.78% 38.5 +0.79% 41 -3.3%
2017 38.7 - 38.2 - 42.4 -

The median age of Brown County, Illinois gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 344 +6.56% 244 +5.14% 362 249
10 to 19 239 +15.13% 351 -15.82% 268 295
20 to 29 941 -7.14% 243 +4.22% 873 250
30 to 39 874 -6.26% 341 -0.23% 814 337
40 to 49 717 -10.49% 248 -7.74% 642 229
50 to 59 606 -15.92% 383 -18.38% 510 317
60 to 69 373 -17.35% 272 +10.11% 311 299
70+ 266 +9.08% 349 -17.51% 287 287

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Brown County, Illinois is $59,346.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Brown County.

  • Under 25
    $53,750.00
  • 25 to 44
    $59,208.00
  • 45 to 64
    $67,392.00
  • 65 and over
    $42,841.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Brown County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Brown County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Brown County, Illinois is currently $69,410.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

1.80% of households in Brown County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Brown County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    20.12%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    23.37%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    20.52%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.56%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    17.72%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.90%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.80%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Brown County is $23,615.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Brown County by the total population of Brown County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Brown County, Illinois, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Brown County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    3.66%
  • Bachelor's degree
    19.74%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    16.32%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    56.05%
  • Less than high school diploma
    4.22%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Brown County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Brown County over the age of 16 is 5,385.

Of those people, a total of 44.60% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Brown County is 44.00%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 229 41.00% 0.00%
20 to 24 years 532 54.90% 5.80%
25 to 29 years 591 51.80% 3.30%
30 to 34 years 574 59.20% 0.00%
35 to 44 years 1,022 49.00% 0.80%
45 to 54 years 820 39.50% 0.90%
55 to 59 years 433 58.00% 0.00%
60 to 64 years 293 46.80% 1.50%
65 to 74 years 507 22.90% 0.00%
75 years and over 384 11.20% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Brown County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 3,988 58.90% 1.50%
Black or African American 1,174 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 20 0.00% 0.00%
Asian 3 0.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 135 23.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 65 38.50% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 322 33.20% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 3,861 59.30% 1.60%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Brown County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Brown County is 2,368, with median earnings of $42,660.00.

Women in Brown County, Illinois earning approximately 80.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 2,368 $42,660.00
Male 1,219 $44,883.00
Female 1,149 $35,979.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 286 $40,000.00
Business and Financial 95 $59,375.00
Computer and Mathematical 58 $117,868.00
Architecture and Engineering 6 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 2 $0.00
Community and Social Service 47 $43,508.00
Legal 15 $0.00
Educational and Library 44 $40,357.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 2 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 130 $44,583.00
Healthcare Support 132 $29,435.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 55 $0.00
Law Enforcement 97 $59,719.00
Food Preparation and Serving 93 $11,083.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 43 $15,104.00
Personal Care and Service 68 $11,842.00
Sales 154 $50,714.00
Office and Administrative Support 245 $36,493.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 98 $43,472.00
Construction and Extraction 106 $27,083.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 82 $43,846.00
Production 50 $39,000.00
Transportation and Material Moving 212 $50,750.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 178 $36,815.00 108 $53,750.00
Business and Financial 77 $62,321.00 18 $54,583.00
Computer and Mathematical 12 $0.00 46 $118,309.00
Architecture and Engineering 6 $0.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 0 $0.00 2 $0.00
Community and Social Service 36 $0.00 11 $0.00
Legal 0 $0.00 15 $0.00
Educational and Library 7 $0.00 37 $36,607.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00 2 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 0 $0.00 130 $44,583.00
Healthcare Support 0 $0.00 132 $29,435.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 3 $0.00 52 $0.00
Law Enforcement 63 $58,906.00 34 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 16 $9,000.00 77 $11,750.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 17 $7,750.00 26 $16,458.00
Personal Care and Service 19 $0.00 49 $36,250.00
Sales 44 $23,750.00 110 $57,717.00
Office and Administrative Support 53 $42,083.00 192 $35,278.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 98 $43,472.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 76 $45,625.00 30 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 82 $43,846.00 0 $0.00
Production 50 $39,000.00 0 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 196 $52,778.00 16 $31,250.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 1,998 households in Brown County, with an average household size of 2.24 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,087 families in Brown County with an average family size of 3.03 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 862 71 154 911
Average Household Size 3.13 3.18 2.87 1.21
Total Families 862 71 154 0
Average Household Size 3.12 2.83 2.59 0

Poverty

Of the 1,087 families in Brown County, 5.80% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Brown County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 2,346 housing units in Brown County, Illinois.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 1,998 85.17%
Vacant 348 14.83%

20.03% of the total 2,346 housing units in Brown County are rental units. This is approximately 470 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,472 are occupied by the owner - or 62.75% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Brown County is $578.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Brown County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    56
  • Less than $500
    216
  • $500 to $999
    182
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    70
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    2
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Brown County is $106,200.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Brown County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    248
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    438
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    292
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    234
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    165
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    93
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    0
  • $1,000,000 or more
    2

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Brown County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Brown County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    735
  • 1940 to 1949
    163
  • 1950 to 1959
    208
  • 1960 to 1969
    176
  • 1970 to 1979
    318
  • 1980 to 1989
    130
  • 1990 to 1999
    321
  • 2000 to 2009
    186
  • 2010 to 2013
    109
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Brown County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    91
  • 1 vehicle available
    697
  • 2 vehicles available
    786
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    424

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Brown County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Brown County that commute to work in a particular way.

16.9 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Brown County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    262
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    520
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    447
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    275
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    194
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    29
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    184
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    20
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    28
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    144
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    30
  • 90 or more minutes
    25

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Brown County, Illinois in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Brown County, Illinois

We have data for 10 places in Brown County, Illinois. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.