Jury Pool Profile
Ford County, Illinois
- County seat
- Paxton
- Judicial district
- 11th Judicial Circuit Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 13,216
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 13,406.
At a glance
Ford County is a 13,216-person venue. The county population is 90% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $69,761, $13,566 below the IL state median of $83,327; 18.9% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 4.2% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Education & health services, at 35.1% of covered employment, average pay $64,332/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.45%, below the 4.85% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 71% to 73% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 13,406
- Median household income
- $62,439
- Unemployment
- 4.5%
Who sits on a jury?
≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 90% / 1%.
Ford County has a population of 13,406, with a median age of 41.9. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 90.3%; Black residents 0.5%. Independently, 5.3% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $69,761; 18.9% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 9.3% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Education & health services, about 35% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest employment sector at 35.1% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 23.7%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 4.45%, below the Illinois state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 72%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Ford County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 73.0% in 2024, 72.5% in 2020, 71.1% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 63% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 4.2% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
4.2% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, German or other West Germanic, Russian, Polish, or other Slavic. Veterans account for 7.9% of the adult civilian population (814 individuals).