Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830.^[1] Its county seat is Peoria.^[2] Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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Peoria County
County
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°47′N 89°46′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1825
Named for	Peoria tribe
Seat	Peoria
Largest city	Peoria
Area
• Total	631 sq mi (1,630 km2)
• Land	619 sq mi (1,600 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	181,830
• Density	290/sq mi (110/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	61451, 61517, 61523, 61525, 61526, 61528, 61529, 61531, 61533, 61536, 61539, 61547, 61552, 61559, 61562, 61569, 61601, 61602, 61603, 61604, 61605, 61606, 61607, 61612, 61613, 61614, 61615, 61616, 61625, 61629, 61630, 61633, 61634, 61636, 61637, 61638, 61639, 61641, 61643, 61650, 61651, 61652, 61653, 61654, 61655, 61656
Congressional districts	16th, 17th
Website	https://www.peoriacounty.org

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2008)

Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 631 square miles (1,630 km²), of which 619 square miles (1,600 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.8%) is water.^[4] The county is drained by Spoon River, Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, and Copperas Creek.^[5]

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 181,830 people, including 73,253 households. The population density was 301.2 inhabitants per square mile (116.3/km²). There were 83,034 housing units at an average density of 134.1 per square mile (51.8/km²).^[4]

The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white alone, 18.8% black or African American alone, 4.1% Asian alone, 0.4% American Indian alone, .1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 3.1% listed two or more races, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, and 69.4% were white and not of Hispanic or Latino origin.^[13] In terms of ancestry, per the 2010 US Census, 28.3% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 5.5% were American.^[14]

Of the 75,793 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 36.8 years.^[15]

The median income for a household in the county was $49,747 and the median income for a family was $63,163. Males had a median income of $51,246 versus $32,881 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,157. About 10.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.^[16]

• Glasford crater
• Jubilee College State Park
• WMBD World's Most Beautiful Drive (Grandview Drive/Prospect)^[17]
• Forest Park Nature Center^[18]
• Peoria Heights Tower Park^[19]
• Rock Island Trail

People from Peoria County other than in the city of Peoria:

• Chris Brackett, host of Arrow Affliction on The Sportsman Channel
• Mike Dunne, pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams
• Mary Emma Holmes (1839-1937), reformer, suffragist, and educator
• Bill Krieg, Major League Baseball player
• Lance (Henry) LeGault, TV and movie actor: Colonel Roderick Decker on The A-Team
• Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player: Cleveland Indians pitcher
• Johnston McCulley, pulp fiction author: creator of Zorro
• Richard Pryor, Actor, Comedian
• David Ogden Stiers, actor, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H
• Josh Taylor, TV actor: Chris Kostichek on the soap opera Days of Our Lives
• Jim Thome, first baseman for several Major League Baseball teams

Peoria County is governed by an 18-member County Board which meets on the second Thursday of each month. Each member represents a district with roughly 10,000 residents.^[20]

The County also elects an Auditor, Circuit Clerk, Coroner, County Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Regional Superintendent (Education), and Treasurer to four-year terms.

Peoria County, along with Champaign County, is a reliable state bellwether, having voted for Illinois' statewide winner in every presidential election since 1964. Prior to 1992, Peoria County, like most of central Illinois, was powerfully Republican. Usually, it only voted for Democratic Party presidential candidates when they won nationally by a landslide. It began trending away from the GOP in the mid-1980s, as evidenced when Ronald Reagan only carried it with 55 percent of the vote in 1984 even as he was winning reelection in a landslide nationally.

From 1992 onward, the county has backed the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, though never by a margin greater than 10 percent aside from 2008 when Illinoisan Barack Obama won it by nearly 14 points. This relative closeness in results was most evident in 2004 when the county backed John Kerry over George W. Bush by only 70 votes.

In Congress, Peoria County is represented by Democrat Eric Sorensen of Illinois's 17th congressional district and Republican Darin LaHood of the Illinois's 18th congressional district.

In the Illinois Senate, Peoria County is represented by Republican Win Stoller of the 37th Legislative District and Democrat Dave Koehler of the 46th Legislative District. In the Illinois House of Representatives, Peoria County is represented by Republican Ryan Spain of the 73rd Representative District, Republican Travis Weaver of the 91st Representative District and Democrat Jehan Gordon-Booth of the 92nd Representative District.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Peoria County, Illinois