21,157 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
716 square miles of land · 30 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.
9 active community water systems list Fayette County in the area they serve, reporting 17,926 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| VANDALIA surface water · local government · IL0510350 | 7,616 served |
| FAYETTE WATER COMPANY buys surface water · private · IL0510010 | 5,608 served |
| ST ELMO buys surface water · local government · IL0510250 | 1,272 served |
| RAMSEY buys groundwater · local government · IL0510200 | 966 served |
| BROWNSTOWN buys groundwater · local government · IL0510100 | 740 served |
| VANDALIA CORRECTIONAL CENTER buys surface water · state · IL0515500 | 700 served |
| FARINA buys surface water · local government · IL0510150 | 540 served |
| ST PETER buys surface water · local government · IL0510300 | 483 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 39 people were held in Fayette County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 277 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 36.
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.
4 school districts have their office in Fayette County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $28.7 million — $22.8 million to run schools, about $15,602 per student, plus $5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.5 million local (mostly property tax), $15.6 million state, $5.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $10.8 million.
Spent $7.7 million — $5.5 million to run schools, about $13,176 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.1 million local (mostly property tax), $4.4 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.9 million.
Spent $7.1 million — $6 million to run schools, about $14,518 per student, plus $948,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $4.7 million state, $1.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 million.
Spent $7.4 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $15,020 per student, plus $1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $5.3 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $213,000.
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 Fayette County about $15.1 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.
356 bridges in Fayette County: 203 in good condition, 137 fair, and 16 poor (4.5%). “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.
| FAI 70 WB over IL 140 & CSXT RR · built 2005 | 12,900 vehicles a day |
| FAI 70 EB over IL 140 & CSXT RR · built 2005 | 12,900 vehicles a day |
| 6TH STREET 8200 over TOWN BRANCH CREEK · built 1940 | 875 vehicles a day |
| TR-272 over OVER CUP CREEK · built 1930 | 300 vehicles a day |
| MADISON STREET 300 over CREEK · built 1930 | 225 vehicles a day |
| FAS-651 over LITTLE CREEK · built 1935 | 125 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.6 million of work in Fayette County in fiscal 2025, about $73 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 Fayette 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 Fayette County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Effingham County (23 mi) · Bond County (24 mi) · Marion County (25 mi) · Shelby County (29 mi) · Montgomery County (29 mi) · Clay County (34 mi).