Wayne County, Illinois Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Wayne County, IL Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Less healthy than 70% of counties in Illinois
  • C
    Income Below average
  • F
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 82% of counties in Illinois

Source: Map AI Methodology

Wayne County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
Population 15,973 12,692,444 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 22.3 219.1 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.42% -0.16% 0.59%
Median age 41.0 37.4 37.3
Households 6,866 5,035,584 130,235,071

Population in Wayne County declined by 3.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 15,973 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Wayne County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Wayne County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 20.2% of residents. That is 0.2 points below Illinois as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Illinois, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 50.3% of the people living in Wayne County and men 49.7%.

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15,973

100% of everyone living in Wayne County

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Economy

Wayne County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $55,247 $84,042 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.24% 4.46% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 3.4% 5.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Wayne County is about 34% lower than in Illinois.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $91,254 $149,936 $248,835
Median rent $657 $1,274 $1,407
Homeownership rate 78.4% 67.1% 65.2%

The median home price in Wayne County is about 11.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $657 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Wayne County spend about 43 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 179 hours, about 7.4 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 21.4 23.6 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 42.9 47.3 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 179 197 187
Estimated yearly cost $5,538 $6,104 $5,790
Work from home 7.0% 15.9% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 2,277 7,977 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 660 1,547 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Illinois: Edgar County (12.0 min), Brown County (12.7 min), Morgan County (13.1 min).
Slowest: Calhoun County (43.8 min), Pulaski County (31.2 min), Pope County (31.0 min).

The average commute time in Wayne County is 21 minutes, shorter than the 24 minutes in Illinois.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Wayne County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 14.8% 34.1% 31.6%
Average household size 2.31 2.46 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Illinois: DuPage County (0.4), Champaign County (0.4), Lake County (0.4).
Lowest: Hardin County (0.2), Fayette County (0.2), Perry County (0.2).

Health

Wayne County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Wayne County Illinois Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 78.7 77.9 78.3
Self-rated poor health 16.4% 15.6% 16.3%
Smokers 20.0% 19.2% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Illinois: DuPage County (0.8), Champaign County (0.8), Monroe County (0.8).
Lowest: Alexander County (0.8), Pulaski County (0.8), Gallatin County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Wayne County, Illinois.

How many people live in Wayne County, Illinois?

About 15,973 people live in Wayne County, Illinois, in 6,866 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 41.0, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.

Is Wayne County, Illinois urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Wayne County, Illinois has 22 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 26% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Wayne County, Illinois an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 1.7 times the median household income ($91,254 against $55,247), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $657 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is it hard to find a job in Wayne County, Illinois?

Unemployment in Wayne County, Illinois is only 3.4%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

How educated are people in Wayne County, Illinois?

14.8% of adults in Wayne County, Illinois hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 7), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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