Grundy County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,533. Its county seat is Morris. Grundy County is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

In 2010, the center of population of Illinois was in Grundy County, just northeast of the village of Mazon.

Illinois's state fossil is the Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), a fossil organism first discovered in the Mazon Creek fossil beds. Grundy County is home to the Dresden Generating Station, a nuclear power plant that was the first privately financed nuclear power plant built in the United States. The county is also the location of the Morris Operation, a former nuclear fuel storage facility that has been described as the only de facto high-level radioactive waste storage site in the United States.

History Grundy County was established on February 17, 1841. It was formed out of LaSalle County and named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy. The county was well known for its coal mines and attracted miners from Pennsylvania and other regions to work its deposits. The 1883 Diamond Mine Disaster occurred in Grundy County. The disaster took the lives of 69 men and boys who were trapped underground when water broke through into the mine after days of heavy rain and the pumps could not keep up with the rising water. 22 bodies were eventually recovered, the remaining 44 were left in the mine and the mine was sealed. Today a marker stands near where it was believed the majority of victims were entombed.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Morris have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

Major highways

Adjacent counties Kendall (north) Will (east) Kankakee (southeast) Livingston (south) LaSalle (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 52,533, a median age of 38.7 years, 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18, 15.2% were 65 years of age or older, there were 99.7 males for every 100 females, and there were 96.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 85.9% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.4% from some other race, and 7.8% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.9% of the population.

Seventy-five percent of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 20,038 households in the county, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 53.1% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 21.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 24.9% were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 21,174 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant, 73.5% of the occupied housing units were owner-occupied, and 26.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Grundy County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)29,83831,43335,50244,52643,47297.57%97.20%94.58%88.94%82.75%Black or African American alone (NH)4115675778330.13%0.05%0.18%1.15%1.59%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)35358168480.11%0.11%0.22%0.14%0.09%Asian alone (NH)1081051123184660.35%0.32%0.30%0.64%0.89%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census21216xx0.01%0.02%0.03%Other race alone (NH)4913251220.16%0.00%0.01%0.05%0.23%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2164411,864xx0.58%0.88%3.55%Hispanic or Latino (any race)5117481,5524,0965,7121.67%2.31%4.13%8.18%10.87%Total30,58232,33737,53550,06352,533 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 50,063 people, 18,546 households, and 13,431 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 19,996 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.7% white, 1.2% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 2.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.3% were German, 23.0% were Irish, 12.7% were Italian, 9.4% were Polish, 8.6% were English, 7.1% were Norwegian, and 3.0% were American.

Of the 18,546 households, 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.6% were non-families, and 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age was 36.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $64,297 and the median income for a family was $75,000. Males had a median income of $58,491 versus $36,592 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,895. About 5.2% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over. Communities

City Morris

Villages

Braceville Carbon Hill Channahon (part) Coal City (part) Diamond (part) Dwight (part) East Brooklyn Gardner Godley (part) Kinsman Mazon Minooka (mostly) Seneca (part) South Wilmington Verona

Former Communities Jugtown

Townships Grundy County is divided into seventeen townships:

Aux Sable Braceville Erienna Felix Garfield Goodfarm Goose Lake Greenfield Highland Maine Mazon Morris Nettle Creek Norman Saratoga Vienna Wauponsee

Unincorporated communities

Paytonville Nettle Creek Wauponsee

Politics Grundy County is a Republican stronghold. It has only strayed from voting for Republicans in any election a handful of times. The greatest Democratic margin occurred in 1996, by less than four percent and off the back of Ross Perot's third party candidacy. The county has not voted for a Democratic governor since 1852.

Education K-12 school districts include: - Text list

Coal City Community Unit School District 1 Herscher Community Unit School District 2

Secondary school districts include:

Dwight Township High School District 230 Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School District Minooka Community High School District 111 Morris Community High School District 101 Newark Community High School District 18 Seneca Township High School District 160

Elementary school districts include:

Braceville School District 75 Dwight Common School District 232 Gardner Community Consolidated School District 72C Lisbon Community Consolidated School District 90 Mazon-Verona-Kinsman Elementary School District 2C Miller Township Community Consolidated School District Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 Morris School District 54 Nettle Creek Community Consolidated School District 24C Saratoga Community Consolidated School District 60C Seneca Community Consolidated School District 170 South Wilmington Consolidated School District 74

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Grundy County, Illinois

References

External links Grundy County website Grundy County Jobs