Official Federal Data
Cass County, Illinois
FIPS 17017 · Population 12,784
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$68,125 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6%
Unemployment
4% national
$884M ▼
GDP
20.8% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 12,784 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$68,125 ▲
Per Capita
$32,954 ▲
Mean Household
$81,028 ▲
Poverty Rate
11.1% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Cass County$68,125
Illinois$83,390
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.4%
18-34 · 20.6%
35-54 · 24.1%
55-64 · 12.8%
65+ · 18%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
86.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 3.2 pts
20.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 14.9 pts
6%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
12,784
Population
5,871
Labor Force
Employed
5,622
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6%
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
5.7%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 14.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 450 workers (36.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $31,816.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $884M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Real Estate and Rental and Leasing averages $75,510 while Retail Trade averages $31,816, a 2.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Finance & Insurance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
177
Cluster Employment
2.34x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Crop Production
4.74x 74
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.56x 79
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
2.34x 177
Construction of Buildings
1.66x 91
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.55x 157
Repair and Maintenance
1.51x 65
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.39x
Food Services and Drinking Places
142 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Crop Production concentrates at 4.74x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$97,100 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$723 ▲
Rent/Mo
75.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
9.7% ▼
Vacancy
1.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$632/mo
1 Bedroom
$836/mo
2 Bedroom
$916/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,263/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,537/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,703/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 1.4x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- High home ownership: 75.9% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,703/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
7,358 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
5.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
77.4%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
20.8% ▲
HS Diploma+
86.4% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
57,734/yr
15,945/yr
11,893/yr
9,399/yr
8,607/yr
5,976/yr
5,914/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
22.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
26.1%
Service
15.3%
Sales & Office
16.3%
Construction / Maint.
13.1%
Production / Transport
29.2%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 5,622 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 22.3% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- Short commutes: 21.0-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,237 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Cass County shows meaningful potential for crop production attraction, with a 4.74x concentration and 74 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 22.3% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across crop production, gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and credit intermediation and related activities creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Cass County, Illinois, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Cass County, Illinois?
12,784 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Cass County, Illinois?
$68,125 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Cass County, Illinois?
4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Cass County, Illinois?
$884M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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