Paxton, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paxton is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,525 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ford County^GR6.

The town was initially named Prairie City, then Prospect City. Finally, it was renamed for Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace, who was interested in organizing an English settlement in Illinois. The colony never materialized, but the town kept the name.

Paxton is the home of the Illinois Central Historical Society, a railroad depot historic preservation group that centers on the history of the Illinois Central Railroad. ^[1]

[edit] Geography

Paxton is located at 40°27′31″N, 88°5′45″W (40.458745, -88.095784)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,525 people, 1,776 households, and 1,198 families residing in the city. The population density was 783.5/km² (2,031.4/mi²). There were 1,888 housing units at an average density of 326.9/km² (847.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.86% White, 0.29% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population.

There were 1,776 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,804, and the median income for a family was $44,256. Males had a median income of $31,140 versus $23,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,617. About 4.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.