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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Illinois

54.6% coverage

Illinois's WIC program reaches 54.6% of eligible residents — an estimated 183,000 participants out of 335,000 who qualify. That leaves 152,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

335K

WIC eligibles

183K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

152K

Unserved eligibles

102

Counties

Illinois by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Illinois inherits the state's 54.6% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Illinois at a glance

Coverage rate

54.6%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

45.4%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

335K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

183K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

152K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

269K

31.9% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 102 counties in Illinois.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Cook 143K
  2. 2 Will 13K
  3. 3 Kane 13K
  4. 4 Lake 13K
  5. 5 Winnebago 13K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Cook 65K
  2. 2 Will 6K
  3. 3 Kane 6K
  4. 4 Lake 6K
  5. 5 Winnebago 6K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Alexander 65.9%
  2. 2 Hardin 61.5%
  3. 3 Hamilton 59.5%
  4. 4 Pulaski 59.3%
  5. 5 White 57.0%

Every county in Illinois

All 102 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Adams 2,130 1,163 967 1,711 37.7%
Alexander 289 158 131 232 65.9%
Bond 432 236 196 347 47.6%
Boone 1,487 812 675 1,195 32.5%
Brown 107 58 49 86 24.9%
Bureau 1,207 659 548 970 46.0%
Calhoun 27 15 12 22 9.6%
Carroll 356 194 162 286 35.6%
Cass 661 361 300 531 49.8%
Champaign 5,414 2,958 2,456 4,350 33.6%
Christian 474 259 215 381 19.2%
Clark 457 250 207 367 36.5%
Clay 310 169 141 249 32.6%
Clinton 726 396 330 583 22.3%
Coles 1,217 665 552 978 35.5%
Cook 143,132 78,189 64,943 115,002 33.5%
Crawford 418 228 190 336 30.0%
Cumberland 342 187 155 275 32.0%
De Witt 713 390 323 573 52.3%
DeKalb 3,481 1,902 1,579 2,797 41.0%
Douglas 799 436 363 642 40.4%
DuPage 12,862 7,026 5,836 10,334 16.5%
Edgar 686 375 311 551 56.2%
Edwards 255 139 116 205 40.7%
Effingham 1,023 559 464 822 31.4%
Fayette 793 433 360 637 47.5%
Ford 351 192 159 282 31.6%
Franklin 1,199 655 544 963 43.3%
Fulton 836 457 379 672 36.9%
Gallatin 152 83 69 122 52.4%
Greene 426 233 193 342 49.9%
Grundy 916 500 416 736 18.8%
Hamilton 423 231 192 340 59.5%
Hancock 452 247 205 363 36.0%
Hardin 63 35 28 51 61.5%
Henderson 159 87 72 128 36.7%
Henry 1,220 666 554 980 32.3%
Iroquois 896 490 406 720 40.2%
Jackson 2,346 1,282 1,064 1,885 56.0%
Jasper 182 99 83 146 25.0%
Jefferson 1,664 909 755 1,337 52.0%
Jersey 380 207 173 305 27.9%
Jo Daviess 352 192 160 283 25.8%
Johnson 427 233 194 343 51.1%
Kane 13,083 7,147 5,936 10,512 28.9%
Kankakee 4,161 2,273 1,888 3,343 47.6%
Kendall 2,401 1,312 1,089 1,929 19.2%
Knox 2,016 1,101 915 1,620 47.6%
Lake 13,045 7,126 5,919 10,481 22.4%
LaSalle 3,701 2,022 1,679 2,974 41.8%
Lawrence 448 245 203 360 40.8%
Lee 693 379 314 557 29.4%
Livingston 1,027 561 466 825 33.0%
Logan 653 357 296 525 33.4%
Macon 3,368 1,840 1,528 2,706 36.6%
Macoupin 1,171 640 531 941 36.8%
Madison 6,535 3,570 2,965 5,251 31.0%
Marion 1,705 931 774 1,370 50.7%
Marshall 345 188 157 277 36.5%
Mason 376 205 171 302 43.7%
Massac 361 197 164 290 40.6%
McDonough 641 350 291 515 37.1%
McHenry 4,708 2,572 2,136 3,783 18.7%
McLean 3,517 1,921 1,596 2,826 25.9%
Menard 255 139 116 205 23.9%
Mercer 393 215 178 316 34.3%
Monroe 143 78 65 115 4.7%
Montgomery 711 388 323 571 34.9%
Morgan 907 496 411 729 40.4%
Moultrie 376 205 171 302 29.9%
Ogle 1,399 764 635 1,124 34.9%
Peoria 7,005 3,826 3,179 5,628 39.6%
Perry 737 402 335 592 47.5%
Piatt 378 207 171 304 26.5%
Pike 799 436 363 642 56.1%
Pope 119 65 54 96 38.3%
Pulaski 238 130 108 191 59.3%
Putnam 142 78 64 114 37.9%
Randolph 630 344 286 506 28.6%
Richland 447 244 203 359 31.6%
Rock Island 5,891 3,218 2,673 4,733 48.4%
Saline 1,070 585 485 860 54.5%
Sangamon 5,624 3,072 2,552 4,519 36.1%
Schuyler 177 97 80 142 41.4%
Scott 158 86 72 127 40.8%
Shelby 683 373 310 549 42.0%
St. Clair 8,251 4,507 3,744 6,629 38.1%
Stark 213 116 97 171 43.6%
Stephenson 1,316 719 597 1,057 37.0%
Tazewell 3,415 1,866 1,549 2,744 33.2%
Union 675 369 306 542 47.3%
Vermilion 3,562 1,946 1,616 2,862 55.3%
Wabash 276 151 125 222 32.0%
Warren 485 265 220 390 34.0%
Washington 192 105 87 154 19.9%
Wayne 755 413 342 607 53.4%
White 599 327 272 481 57.0%
Whiteside 1,532 837 695 1,231 36.8%
Will 13,411 7,326 6,085 10,775 23.4%
Williamson 2,361 1,290 1,071 1,897 42.9%
Winnebago 12,985 7,093 5,892 10,433 49.6%
Woodford 492 269 223 395 15.0%

Apply for WIC in Illinois

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Illinois's WIC agency.

Illinois WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Illinois.

Families guide

Illinois SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Illinois SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Illinois's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Illinois food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology