20,272 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.0% since 2020)
442 square miles of land · 46 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.
7 active community water systems list Perry County in the area they serve, reporting 18,955 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| DUQUOIN buys surface water · local government · IL1450100 | 7,169 served |
| PINCKNEYVILLE surface water · local government · IL1450150 | 5,804 served |
| PINCKNEYVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTER buys groundwater · state · IL1450010 | 2,470 served |
| TAMAROA buys surface water · local government · IL1450250 | 2,197 served |
| WILLISVILLE buys surface water · local government · IL1450300 | 799 served |
| CUTLER groundwater · local government · IL1450050 | 463 served |
| CROSSROADS MHP buys surface water · private · IL1450260 | 53 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 66 people were held in Perry County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 482 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 45.
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.
5 school districts have their office in Perry County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $24.8 million — $22.4 million to run schools, about $16,375 per student, plus $504,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.4 million local (mostly property tax), $16.4 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.1 million.
Spent $9.6 million — $7.6 million to run schools, about $15,791 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.2 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $2.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $128,000.
Spent $7.3 million — $6.3 million to run schools, about $14,625 per student, plus $731,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.9 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $782,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.9 million.
Spent $2.4 million — $2.3 million to run schools, about $11,177 per student, plus $39,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1.4 million state, $313,000 federal. Long-term debt: $246,000.
Spent $2.7 million — $1.9 million to run schools, about $21,022 per student, plus $637,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $434,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $446,000 federal. Long-term debt: $272,000.
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 Perry County about $26 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
136 bridges in Perry County: 51 in good condition, 75 fair, and 10 poor (7.4%). “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.
| ILL 154 over BEAUCOUP CREEK · built 1962 | 5,750 vehicles a day |
| FAS-1824 (CH-27) over SIXMILE CREEK · built 1900 | 1,000 vehicles a day |
| FAS 835-CH 12 over MUD CREEK · built 1958 | 900 vehicles a day |
| CO HWY 1 over WHITE WALNUT CREEK · built 1959 | 675 vehicles a day |
| CO HWY 1 over LITTLE BEAUCOUP CRK · built 1959 | 525 vehicles a day |
| CH 8-KIMZEY ROAD over REESE CREEK · built 1988 | 225 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $12.1 million of work in Perry County in fiscal 2025, about $576 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 Perry 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 Perry County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Washington County (19 mi) · Jackson County (21 mi) · Randolph County (25 mi) · Franklin County (25 mi) · Jefferson County (28 mi) · Williamson County (34 mi).