Lake County is the farthest north-east county in the U.S. state of Illinois. A 2006 census estimated the population was 713,076. Its county seat is Waukegan, Illinois. According to the 2000 United States Census, Lake County is the 31st richest county by per-capita income. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its lakefront communities, along with some in Cook County, are part of an area known as the North Shore.

Originally part of McHenry County, the townships comprising Lake County were carved out into a separate county in 1839.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,368 square miles (3,543 km²), of which, 448 square miles (1,159 km²) of it is land and 920 square miles (2,384 km²) of it is water, much of it in Lake Michigan. The total area is 67.28% water.

Lakes

Besides Lake Michigan, lakes in the county include:

Lake Amy Antioch Lake Ashley Lake Bangs Lake Lake Barrington Benet Lake Big Bear Lake Bluff Lake Brandenburg Lake Bresen Lake Butler Lake Lake Catherine Cedar Lake Channel Lake Lake Charles Countryside Lake Cranberry Lake Crooked Lake Cross Lake Davis Lake Davlins Pond Dead Lake Deep Lake Deer Lake Diamond Lake

Druce Lake Duck Lake Dunns Lake East Loon Lake Echo Lake Lake Eleanor Elmwood Farms Lake Lake Fairfield Fish Lake Forest Lake Fourth Lake Fox Lake Gages Lake Lake Germaine Grandwood Lake Grass Lake Grassy Lake Grayslake Harvey Lake Hastings Lake Hendrick Lake Highland Lake Homer White Lake Honey Lake Huntley Lake

Island Lake Lambs Lake Leo Lake Liberty Lake Lake Linden Little Bear Lake Loch Lomond Long Lake Loon Lake Lake Louise Lucky Lake Lake Marie Miltmore Lake Minear Lake Mud Lake Lake Naomi Nippersink Lake North Tower Lake Petite Lake Pistakee Lake Lake Potomac Redhead Lake Redwing Slough Lake Round Lake Saint Marys Lake

Sand Lake Sand Pond Schreiber Lake Shady Lane Resort Lake Lake Sheree Silver Lake Slocum Lake Slough Lake Spring Lake Sterling Lake Sullivan Lake Sun Lake Sylvan Lake Third Lake Timber Lake Tower Lake Turner Lake Twin Lakes Valley Lake Waterford Lake West Lake White Lake Wooster Lake Lake Zurich

Townships

Antioch, Avon, Benton, Cuba, Ela, Fremont, Grant, Lake Villa, Libertyville, Moraine, Newport, Sheilds, Vernon Hills, Warren, Wauconda, Waukegan, West Deerfield, Zion

Adjacent counties

• Kenosha County, Wisconsin - north
• Allegan County, Michigan - northeast¹
• Van Buren County, Michigan - east¹
• Berrien County, Michigan - southeast¹
• Cook County, Illinois - south
• McHenry County, Illinois - west

¹ Boundary lies entirely in Lake Michigan.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 644,356 people, 216,297 households, and 163,953 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,440 people per square mile (556/km²). There were 225,919 housing units at an average density of 505 per square mile (195/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.11% White, 6.94% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 3.90% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.72% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 14.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.0% were of German, 9.0% Irish, 7.2% Polish, 6.4% Italian and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 78.7% spoke English, 12.9% Spanish and 1.0% Russian as their first language.

The Census estimates of 2005 showed Lake County with 68.6% of its residents being non-Hispanic whites, 18.2% Latinos, 6.8% African American and 5.5% Asian.

Lake County Population by year

2003 - 713,076 2000 - 644,356 1990 - 516,418 1980 - 440,372 1970 - 382,638 1960 - 293,656 1950 - 179,097 1940 - 121,094 1930 - 104,387 1920 - 74,285 1910 - 55,058 1900 - 34,504 1890 - 24,235 1880 - 21,296 1870 - 21,014 1860 - 18,257 1850 - 14,226 1840 - 2,634

According to the 2000 census there were 216,297 households out of which 42.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.20% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the county the population was spread out with 29.40% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.30 males. Waukegan and North Chicago account for 20% of the county's population.

The median income for a household in the county was $66,973, and the median income for a family was $76,424. Males had a median income of $50,789 versus $33,458 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,102. About 4.00% of families and 5.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over. The 2000 Census reported that Lake County had the second median highest household income of any county in the state, behind DuPage County.

Townships

• Antioch
• Avon
• Benton
• Cuba
• Ela
• Fremont
• Grant
• Lake Villa
• Libertyville
• Moraine
• Newport
• Shields
• Vernon
• Warren
• Wauconda
• Waukegan
• West Deerfield
• Zion

Cities, villages and census-designated places

Antioch Barrington - partly in Cook County Barrington Hills - partly in Cook, Kane and McHenry County Bannockburn Beach Park Buffalo Grove - partly in Cook County Channel Lake Deerfield - partly in Cook County Deer Park - partly in Cook County Forest Lake Fox Lake - partly in McHenry County Fox Lake Hills Fox River Grove - primarily in McHenry County Fox River Valley Gardens - see Port Barrington Gages Lake Grandwood Park Grayslake Green Oaks Gurnee Hainesville Hawthorn Woods Highland Park Highwood Indian Creek Ingleside Island Lake - partly in McHenry County Kildeer Lake Barrington Lake Bluff Lake Catherine Lake Forest Lake Villa Lake Zurich Lakemoor - partly in McHenry County Libertyville

Lincolnshire Lindenhurst Long Grove Long Lake Mettawa Mundelein North Barrington North Chicago Old Mill Creek Park City Port Barrington - partly in McHenry County Riverwoods Round Lake Round Lake Beach Round Lake Heights Round Lake Park Third Lake Tower Lakes Venetian Village Vernon Hills Volo Wadsworth Wauconda Waukegan Winthrop Harbor Zion

External links

• Lake County, IL official web site
• Lake County Forest Preserve District official web site
• Lake County Animal Control official web site
• Lake County Online web site
• Pioneer Press Lake County Blog
• Lake County, Illinois, CVB - Official Travel Site

References

• Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 : from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8.