Stephenson County is a county located in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 44,630. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Freeport. Stephenson County is included in the Freeport, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Rockford-Freeport- Rochelle, IL Combined Statistical Area.

History

The land that became Stephenson County was first settled by William Waddams in 1832, who founded Waddams Grove. By 1837, population was sufficient to form Stephenson County, taking land from Jo Daviess and Winnebago counties. The county was named for Colonel Benjamin Stephenson, an official of the Illinois Territory. File:Waddams hill.jpg, Marker marking Waddams' first settlement in Stephenson County File:Stephenson County Illinois 1837.png, Stephenson County at the time of its creation in 1837. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since then.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years the average temperatures in the county seat of Freeport, have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 2009 and a record high of was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Adjacent counties

* Green County, Wisconsin (north) * Winnebago County (east) * Ogle County (southeast) * Carroll County (southwest) * Jo Daviess County (west) * Lafayette County, Wisconsin (northwest)

Major highways

* US Highway 20 * Illinois Route 26 * Illinois Route 73 * Illinois Route 75

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 47,711 people, 19,845 households, and 13,015 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,081 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.5% white, 9.0% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.6% were German, 12.5% were Irish, 10.0% were English, and 8.0% were American. Of the 19,845 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 43.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,304 and the median income for a family was $54,224. Males had a median income of $41,672 versus $29,510 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,608. About 12.3% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Communities

City

* Freeport

Villages

* Cedarville * Dakota * Davis * German Valley * Lena * Orangeville * Pearl City * Ridott * Rock City * Winslow

Census-designated places

* Baileyville (part) * Lake Summerset * Willow Lake

Unincorporated communities

* Afolkey * Bolton * Buckhorn Corners * Buena Vista *

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* Eleroy * Evarts *

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* McConnell * Oneco * Red Oak * Rock Grove * Scioto Mills * Waddams Grove * Winneshiek * Yellow Creek