32,510 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.1% since 2020)
866 square miles of land · 38 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.
18 active community water systems list Fulton County in the area they serve, reporting 32,232 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CANTON groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · IL0570250 | 16,748 served |
| IL AMERICAN-FARMINGTON groundwater · local government · IL0570500 | 2,448 served |
| LEWISTOWN groundwater · local government · IL0570600 | 2,400 served |
| SOUTH FULTON WATER DISTRICT buys groundwater · local government · IL0570010 | 1,430 served |
| ASTORIA groundwater · local government · IL0570050 | 1,375 served |
| CUBA buys groundwater · local government · IL0570300 | 1,232 served |
| AVON groundwater · local government · IL0570100 | 920 served |
| WEE-MA-TUK WATER DISTRICT buys groundwater · local government · IL0570040 | 863 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 52 people were held in Fulton County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 242 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 61.
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.
6 school districts have their office in Fulton County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $32.9 million — $30.4 million to run schools, about $14,120 per student, plus $980,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12.7 million local (mostly property tax), $24.9 million state, $5.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.9 million.
Spent $11 million — $9.7 million to run schools, about $15,529 per student, plus $862,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.3 million local (mostly property tax), $6.7 million state, $1.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $545,000.
Spent $8.1 million — $7.3 million to run schools, about $18,261 per student, plus $320,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.5 million local (mostly property tax), $4.4 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.1 million.
Spent $7.4 million — $6.2 million to run schools, about $17,831 per student, plus $838,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.8 million local (mostly property tax), $4.2 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.5 million.
Spent $5.5 million — $4.8 million to run schools, about $17,715 per student, plus $559,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.5 million state, $655,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2 million.
Spent $5.8 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $20,762 per student, plus $331,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $407,000 federal. Long-term debt: $535,000.
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 Fulton County about $21.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
209 bridges in Fulton County: 45 in good condition, 120 fair, and 44 poor (21.1%). “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.
| US 136 over ILLINOIS RIVER · built 1936 | 5,250 vehicles a day |
| ILL 78 over W.BR COPPERAS C · built 1929 | 3,800 vehicles a day |
| US 24 over DUCK CR · built 1934 | 2,100 vehicles a day |
| IL 116 over SPOON RIVER · built 1979 | 1,600 vehicles a day |
| ILL 116 over BR OF SWEGLE CR · built 1933 | 1,600 vehicles a day |
| ILL 97 over BIG CREEK · built 1928 | 1,450 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $12.3 million of work in Fulton County in fiscal 2025, about $367 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 Fulton 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 Fulton County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Mason County (22 mi) · McDonough County (25 mi) · Schuyler County (30 mi) · Peoria County (32 mi) · Knox County (32 mi) · Cass County (34 mi).