Tazewell County (/tæzwɛl/) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 131,343.^[1] Its county seat and largest city is Pekin.^[2] It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze."

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Tazewell County
County
Tazewell County Courthouse in Pekin
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°31′N 89°31′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1827
Named for	Littleton Waller Tazewell
Seat	Pekin
Largest city	Pekin
Area
• Total	658 sq mi (1,700 km2)
• Land	649 sq mi (1,680 km2)
• Water	9.0 sq mi (23 km2)  1.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	131,343
• Density	200/sq mi (77/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	16th, 17th
Website	www.tazewell.com

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Tazewell County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The majority of the population lives along the county's western border.

Tazewell County was formed out of Peoria County in 1827. The consensus appears to be that it was named in honor of Littleton Tazewell, who served in the U.S. Senate, and who became Governor of Virginia in 1834. It is, however, possible that it was named after Littleton's father, prominent Virginia politician Henry Tazewell, after whom Tazewell County, Virginia, was named.

The first county seat was in Mackinaw from 1827 to 1836.^[3][4] It was moved temporarily from Mackinaw to Pekin in June 1831, with the county court proceedings in the Snell schoolhouse.^[3][4] It moved to Tremont in 1836.^[3][5] After a political struggle between Tremont and Pekin, the county seat was reassigned to Pekin in 1849.^[3]

• Tazewell from the time of its creation to 1829, including a large tract of unorganized territory temporarily attached to it, whose precise border was not defined.^[6]
• Tazewell County between 1829 and 1830: the creation of Macon County established a southern border for Tazewell's additional territory.
• Tazewell County between 1830 and 1831: the additional territory to the east became McLean County.
• Tazewell County between 1831 and 1841: the last of the county's additional territory became part of LaSalle County.
• Tazewell County in 1841, reduced to its present borders.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 658 square miles (1,700 km²), of which 649 square miles (1,680 km²) is land and 9.0 square miles (23 km²) (1.4%) is water.^[7]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 135,394 people, 54,146 households, and 37,163 families living in the county.^[17] The population density was 208.6 inhabitants per square mile (80.5/km²). There were 57,516 housing units at an average density of 88.6 per square mile (34.2/km²).^[7] The racial makeup of the county was 96.2% white, 1.0% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.^[17] In terms of ancestry, 35.6% were German, 15.6% were American, 14.4% were Irish, and 12.0% were English.^[18]

Of the 54,146 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 39.8 years.^[17]

The median income for a household in the county was $54,232 and the median income for a family was $66,764. Males had a median income of $50,372 versus $34,747 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,036. About 6.3% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.^[19]

Tazewell County has been solidly Republican on the national level, voting for the Republican candidate for U.S. president since 1996 and in all but two elections since 1952.

For the purposes of Illinois law, as of the 2022 general primary election, the three established political parties in the county are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party as all have received 5% or greater of the vote in a recent election. A relative rarity, Tazewell is one of only five counties where the Libertarian Party was an established political party in 2022.^[20] The Libertarian Party's established established political party status allows it to have the same reduced barriers to ballot access as the Democratic and Republican parties and to hold primary elections.^[21] In the 2022 primary, 20 voters requested a Libertarian primary ballot.^[20]

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

• Charles "Buffalo" Jones, Cowboy and Naturalist
• Everett Dirkson US Senator
• Gary Richrath, Lead Guitarist - REO Speedwagon
• John Theodore McNaughton, Government Official