22,826 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.9% since 2020)
380 square miles of land · 60 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.
11 active community water systems list Saline County in the area they serve, reporting 25,507 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| HARRISBURG buys groundwater · local government · IL1650200 | 8,524 served |
| ELDORADO buys groundwater · local government · IL1655030 | 4,715 served |
| SALINE VALLEY CONSERVANCY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · IL1655300 | 3,921 served |
| CARRIER MILLS buys groundwater · local government · IL1650050 | 2,085 served |
| MITCHELLSVILLE PWD buys groundwater · local government · IL1655200 | 1,970 served |
| LIBERTY-LEDFORD PWD buys groundwater · local government · IL1655050 | 1,255 served |
| PROSPECT WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · IL1655110 | 1,140 served |
| GALATIA buys surface water · local government · IL1650150 | 887 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 69 people were held in Saline County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 463 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 50.
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 Saline County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $38.4 million — $31.3 million to run schools, about $17,670 per student, plus $5.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.1 million local (mostly property tax), $21.5 million state, $10.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $31.3 million.
Spent $23.8 million — $18.8 million to run schools, about $17,459 per student, plus $4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.4 million local (mostly property tax), $13.3 million state, $5.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.4 million.
Spent $7.5 million — $7 million to run schools, about $15,662 per student, plus $385,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $5.5 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $97,000.
Spent $7 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $13,559 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $845,000.
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 Saline County about $20.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
185 bridges in Saline County: 131 in good condition, 46 fair, and 8 poor (4.3%). “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 34 & 145 over STREAM · built 1924 | 4,100 vehicles a day |
| ILL 13 over MID FORK SALINE RIV. · built 1972 | 3,350 vehicles a day |
| US 45 over STREAM · built 1925 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| TR 119 over STREAM · built 1915 | 300 vehicles a day |
| FAS 1897-CH 25 over STREAM · built 1988 | 225 vehicles a day |
| CH 4 over TRIB TO RECTOR CREEK · built 1983 | 175 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $16.4 million of work in Saline County in fiscal 2025, about $689 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 Saline 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 Saline County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Gallatin County (17 mi) · Williamson County (21 mi) · Hardin County (22 mi) · Hamilton County (23 mi) · Pope County (23 mi) · Franklin County (27 mi).