32,486 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.2% since 2020)
869 square miles of land · 37 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
24 active community water systems list Bureau County in the area they serve, reporting 25,752 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PRINCETON groundwater · local government · IL0110850 | 7,832 served |
| SPRING VALLEY groundwater · local government · IL0111000 | 5,582 served |
| DE PUE groundwater · local government · IL0110300 | 1,838 served |
| WALNUT groundwater · local government · IL0111100 | 1,311 served |
| LADD groundwater · local government · IL0110450 | 1,263 served |
| WYANET groundwater · local government · IL0111150 | 886 served |
| SHEFFIELD groundwater · local government · IL0110950 | 821 served |
| TISKILWA groundwater · local government · IL0111050 | 740 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 25 people were held in Bureau County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 128 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 26.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
12 school districts have their office in Bureau County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $17.9 million — $16.3 million to run schools, about $15,281 per student, plus $729,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10 million local (mostly property tax), $7 million state, $2.4 million federal.
Spent $18.5 million — $16.7 million to run schools, about $17,629 per student, plus $664,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.7 million local (mostly property tax), $9.3 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.4 million.
Spent $10.4 million — $9.3 million to run schools, about $15,359 per student, plus $296,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $6.6 million state, $656,000 federal. Long-term debt: $7.4 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $9.1 million to run schools, about $19,271 per student, plus $401,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.6 million local (mostly property tax), $4.1 million state, $915,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.9 million.
Spent $9.7 million — $8 million to run schools, about $19,940 per student, plus $330,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7 million local (mostly property tax), $4.7 million state, $1.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $48.5 million.
Spent $6.1 million — $5.8 million to run schools, about $17,611 per student, plus $44,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $667,000 local (mostly property tax), $5.3 million state, $748,000 federal.
Spent $3.2 million — $3 million to run schools, about $14,911 per student, plus $92,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $1.3 million state, $620,000 federal. Long-term debt: $180,000.
Spent $4.6 million — $4.4 million to run schools, about $24,655 per student, plus $29,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.1 million local (mostly property tax), $2 million state, $397,000 federal. Long-term debt: $779,000.
And 4 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Bureau County about $22.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
374 bridges in Bureau County: 141 in good condition, 173 fair, and 60 poor (16.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| IL 40 FAP 646 over I-80 · built 1963 | 2,400 vehicles a day |
| IL 40 FAP 646 over HENNEPIN CANAL · built 1933 | 2,400 vehicles a day |
| I-180 SB over IAIS RR I & M CANAL · built 1968 | 2,075 vehicles a day |
| I-180 NB over IAIS RR I & M CANAL · built 1968 | 2,075 vehicles a day |
| I-180 SB over BUREAU CREEK · built 1968 | 2,075 vehicles a day |
| I-180 SB over BOTTOM RD FAS 246 · built 1968 | 2,075 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $23.8 million of work in Bureau County in fiscal 2025, about $716 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Illinois are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Bureau County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Bureau County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Putnam County (18 mi) · Stark County (25 mi) · Lee County (27 mi) · Marshall County (27 mi) · Whiteside County (31 mi) · Henry County (31 mi).