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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Illinois

2 persistent-poverty counties

Illinois has 2 persistent-poverty counties and 65 nonmetro counties — home to 57,748 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 11.7% and child poverty is 15.4%.

2

Persistent-poverty counties

65

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

58K

Residents in PPCs

102

Total counties

Illinois by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Illinois at a glance

Poverty rate

11.7%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

15.4%

Under 18

PPC share

2.0%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

63.7%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

2.21

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.21

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Illinois's 281 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 102 in Illinois.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Jackson 0.54
  2. 2 Alexander 0.46
  3. 3 Schuyler 0.38
  4. 4 Edwards 0.37
  5. 5 Pulaski 0.37

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Pulaski 26.1%
  2. 2 Jackson 21.8%
  3. 3 Alexander 21.0%
  4. 4 McDonough 19.9%
  5. 5 Union 19.4%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Jackson 21.8%
  2. 2 Alexander 21.0%

Every county in Illinois

All 102 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Adams 5 — Pop. loss 12.3% 15.4% 65,166 0.20
Alexander 3 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 21.0% 26.5% 5,042 0.46
Bond 1 — Low emp. 12.7% 19.0% 16,627 0.05
Boone 2 — — 10.5% 15.6% 53,316 0.08
Brown 9 — Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 8.9% 8.9% 6,320 0.34
Bureau 7 — Pop. loss 12.6% 15.9% 33,027 0.28
Calhoun 1 — — 5.8% 5.5% 4,406 0.02
Carroll 9 — — 13.6% 21.2% 15,621 0.35
Cass 6 — Pop. loss 10.9% 10.8% 12,826 0.23
Champaign 3 — Housing 18.0% 13.1% 206,098 0.15
Christian 6 — Pop. loss 11.1% 10.7% 33,684 0.23
Clark 8 — Pop. loss 9.5% 10.5% 15,328 0.30
Clay 9 — Pop. loss 16.7% 21.4% 13,173 0.37
Clinton 1 — — 7.5% 8.2% 36,899 0.03
Coles 5 — — 18.4% 21.9% 46,689 0.22
Cook 1 — Housing 13.3% 18.0% 5,185,812 0.05
Crawford 6 — Pop. loss 11.6% 11.5% 18,588 0.23
Cumberland 9 — Pop. loss 9.9% 12.3% 10,378 0.34
De Witt 6 — Pop. loss 10.1% 15.7% 15,461 0.23
DeKalb 1 — Housing 15.9% 19.5% 100,512 0.06
Douglas 8 — — 8.9% 10.3% 19,686 0.30
DuPage 1 — — 6.4% 7.3% 927,263 0.03
Edgar 6 — Pop. loss 11.8% 18.6% 16,637 0.23
Edwards 9 — Pop. loss 17.0% 16.1% 6,118 0.37
Effingham 7 — — 10.6% 16.2% 34,505 0.27
Fayette 6 — — 16.5% 25.5% 21,380 0.25
Ford 3 — Pop. loss 12.7% 14.1% 13,396 0.13
Franklin 7 — — 16.9% 22.5% 37,541 0.29
Fulton 6 — Pop. loss 12.6% 18.1% 33,259 0.24
Gallatin 8 — Pop. loss 15.6% 15.8% 4,857 0.32
Greene 8 — Pop. loss 14.2% 19.9% 11,837 0.32
Grundy 1 — — 6.3% 8.8% 52,920 0.03
Hamilton 9 — Pop. loss 12.5% 15.2% 7,972 0.35
Hancock 9 — Pop. loss 12.7% 16.8% 17,434 0.35
Hardin 9 — Low emp., Pop. loss 10.5% 10.3% 3,623 0.34
Henderson 9 — Pop. loss 11.6% 16.2% 6,284 0.35
Henry 2 — Pop. loss 8.1% 9.0% 48,948 0.07
Iroquois 8 — Pop. loss 13.4% 17.0% 26,746 0.32
Jackson 5 Yes Housing 21.8% 23.2% 52,706 0.54
Jasper 9 — Pop. loss 8.7% 9.7% 9,233 0.33
Jefferson 7 — Pop. loss 14.2% 20.8% 36,808 0.28
Jersey 1 — — 10.0% 14.1% 21,336 0.04
Jo Daviess 8 — — 8.0% 10.0% 21,918 0.29
Johnson 8 — Low emp. 16.7% 25.8% 13,350 0.33
Kane 1 — Housing 8.3% 12.1% 516,097 0.03
Kankakee 3 — Housing 12.5% 17.8% 106,833 0.13
Kendall 1 — — 4.9% 6.9% 135,053 0.02
Knox 4 — Pop. loss 15.9% 18.1% 49,294 0.18
Lake 1 — Housing 8.1% 11.2% 711,885 0.03
LaSalle 4 — — 13.5% 21.5% 109,049 0.17
Lawrence 9 — Low emp. 14.7% 20.4% 15,137 0.36
Lee 6 — Pop. loss 11.7% 13.1% 34,058 0.23
Livingston 6 — Pop. loss 10.0% 12.9% 35,659 0.23
Logan 6 — Pop. loss 13.7% 18.6% 27,870 0.24
Macon 3 — Pop. loss 14.6% 17.7% 102,591 0.13
Macoupin 1 — Pop. loss 14.4% 18.3% 44,566 0.06
Madison 1 — — 11.3% 14.0% 264,631 0.05
Marion 7 — Pop. loss 16.2% 21.7% 37,294 0.29
Marshall 2 — Pop. loss 11.7% 17.2% 11,715 0.08
Mason 8 — Pop. loss 14.0% 19.4% 12,878 0.32
Massac 3 — — 14.9% 20.0% 13,958 0.13
McDonough 7 — Pop. loss, Housing 19.9% 17.6% 27,102 0.30
McHenry 1 — — 6.1% 8.3% 311,366 0.02
McLean 3 — — 13.0% 9.7% 170,882 0.13
Menard 3 — — 9.8% 10.7% 12,169 0.11
Mercer 2 — Pop. loss 7.9% 10.1% 15,619 0.07
Monroe 1 — — 4.6% 5.2% 34,969 0.02
Montgomery 6 — Pop. loss 13.8% 15.1% 28,078 0.24
Morgan 4 — Pop. loss 12.5% 13.8% 32,621 0.16
Moultrie 8 — — 9.8% 12.7% 14,469 0.30
Ogle 6 — — 8.9% 13.0% 51,536 0.22
Peoria 2 — — 15.4% 21.3% 179,831 0.10
Perry 7 — Low emp., Pop. loss 16.9% 29.7% 20,810 0.29
Piatt 3 — — 5.9% 5.8% 16,702 0.10
Pike 9 — Pop. loss 15.3% 22.4% 14,625 0.36
Pope 8 — Low emp., Retire. 14.3% 22.5% 3,757 0.32
Pulaski 8 — Pop. loss 26.1% 35.1% 5,074 0.37
Putnam 8 — Pop. loss 9.9% 16.6% 5,600 0.30
Randolph 6 — Pop. loss 12.3% 15.1% 30,142 0.24
Richland 7 — — 11.9% 11.7% 15,675 0.27
Rock Island 2 — Pop. loss 15.4% 24.0% 142,995 0.10
Saline 7 — Pop. loss 17.1% 17.3% 23,387 0.29
Sangamon 3 — — 12.9% 18.5% 195,217 0.13
Schuyler 9 — — 19.3% 12.2% 6,826 0.38
Scott 9 — Pop. loss 10.6% 17.9% 4,847 0.34
Shelby 8 — Pop. loss 10.0% 11.3% 20,867 0.30
St. Clair 1 — — 13.6% 18.8% 254,777 0.05
Stark 2 — Pop. loss 12.0% 15.5% 5,324 0.09
Stephenson 4 — Pop. loss 13.1% 16.9% 44,042 0.16
Tazewell 2 — — 8.7% 11.0% 130,555 0.07
Union 6 — Pop. loss 19.4% 24.5% 16,972 0.27
Vermilion 4 — Pop. loss 17.2% 24.9% 73,179 0.18
Wabash 7 — Pop. loss 14.1% 19.2% 11,199 0.28
Warren 6 — Pop. loss 12.8% 21.9% 16,576 0.24
Washington 8 — Pop. loss 7.8% 9.5% 13,682 0.29
Wayne 9 — Pop. loss 13.8% 19.4% 15,994 0.36
White 6 — Pop. loss 16.4% 18.6% 13,708 0.25
Whiteside 4 — Pop. loss 12.1% 17.2% 55,192 0.16
Will 1 — — 7.0% 9.7% 698,450 0.03
Williamson 5 — — 14.3% 19.9% 66,902 0.21
Winnebago 2 — — 16.0% 24.2% 283,289 0.10
Woodford 2 — — 7.6% 7.7% 38,348 0.07

Find a food pantry in Illinois

Search Illinois's 281 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Illinois pantry directory

Illinois SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Illinois SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Illinois food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology