Will County, Illinois
Will County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. State of Illinois. As of 2000, the population is 502,266. It was named after Dr. Conrad Will. Conrad Will was a businessman and politician who used slaves in his southern Illinois salt production. A law allowed slaves to be leased from other states and used in the free state of Illinois only for salt production.
The county seat of Will County is Joliet. The towns in the northern part of the county form the southern suburbs of Chicago while the southern part of the county contain small towns and farmland.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal runs through Will County.
Geography
The county has a total area of 2,200 km2 (849 mi2). 2,168 km2 (837 mi2) of it is land and 32 km2 (12 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 1.47% water.
Demographics
As of 2000, there are 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density is 232/km2 (600/mi2). There are 175,524 housing units at an average density of 81 persons/km2 (210 persons/mi2). The racial makeup of the county is 81.83% White, 10.45% African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.63% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. 8.71% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 167,542 households out of which 42.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% are married couples living together, 9.60% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 21.80% are non-families. 17.80% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.94 and the average family size is 3.36.
In the county the population is spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 32.90% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $62,238, and the median income for a family is $69,608. Males have a median income of $50,152 versus $31,345 for females. The per capita income for the county is $24,613. 4.90% of the population and 3.40% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.60% are under the age of 18 and 5.50% are 65 or older.