Ford County, Illinois
County seat: Paxton · Population 13,216 (2025) · 486 sq mi
Ford County is the 79th most populous of Illinois's 102 counties, with 13,216 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Paxton. It is part of the East Central region, one of the 10 Illinois economic development regions (DCEO). The map shows its 9 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Ford County facts
- County seat
- Paxton
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 13,216 −2.3% since 2020
- Land area
- 486 sq mi 56th largest of 102
- Water area
- 1 sq mi
- Population density
- 27 per sq mi
- Established
- 1859
- Named after
- Thomas Ford politician 1800-1850
- Largest city
- Paxton 4,323
- Median household income
- $62,439
- Cities and towns
- 9
- ZIP codes
- 21
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 17053
Cities and towns in Ford County
Ford County has 9 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Ford County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paxton (county seat) | City | 4,323 | |
| Gibson City | City | 3,371 | |
| Piper City | Village | 722 | |
| Melvin | Village | 412 | |
| Roberts | Village | 340 | |
| Sibley | Village | 284 | |
| Elliott | Village | 272 | |
| Kempton | Village | 176 | |
| Cabery | Village | 157 | Kankakee County |
ZIP codes in Ford County
21 ZIP codes reach into Ford County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 60917 also Kankakee and Livingston counties
- 60918 also Iroquois County
- 60919 also Livingston and Kankakee counties
- 60921 also Livingston County
- 60929 also Livingston County
- 60933
- 60936 also McLean and Champaign counties
- 60941 also Kankakee and Iroquois counties
- 60946 also Livingston County
- 60948 also Iroquois County
- 60949 also Champaign County
- 60952 also Livingston County
- 60957 also Champaign County
- 60959 also Livingston County
- 60960 also Vermilion, Iroquois and Champaign counties
- 60962
- 60968 also Iroquois and Livingston counties
- 61720 also McLean County
- 61731 also McLean and Livingston counties
- 61773
- 61845 also Champaign County
Population of Ford County, 2020–2025
Ford County shrank by 316 people (−2.3%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 443 more deaths than births and a net gain of 116 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 13,519 |
| 2021 | 13,489 |
| 2022 | 13,267 |
| 2023 | 13,280 |
| 2024 | 13,326 |
| 2025 | 13,216 |
Neighboring counties
- Iroquois County northeast · 26,150 people
- Livingston County northwest · 35,057 people
- Champaign County south · 209,972 people
- McLean County west · 171,419 people
- Kankakee County northeast · 105,525 people
- Vermilion County southeast · 71,259 people
Printable Ford County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (88 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (74 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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