43,088 people (2024 Census estimate, −3.3% since 2020)
564 square miles of land · 76 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.
13 active community water systems list Stephenson County in the area they serve, reporting 31,863 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| FREEPORT groundwater · private · IL1770200 | 23,930 served |
| LENA groundwater · local government · IL1770300 | 2,680 served |
| PEARL CITY groundwater · local government · IL1770400 | 790 served |
| ORANGEVILLE groundwater · local government · IL1770350 | 780 served |
| CEDARVILLE groundwater · local government · IL1770050 | 663 served |
| IL AMERICAN-NORTHERN HILL groundwater · private · IL1775050 | 600 served |
| DAVIS groundwater · local government · IL1770150 | 589 served |
| DAKOTA groundwater · local government · IL1770100 | 500 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 56 people were held in Stephenson County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2020), or 213 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2015 it was about 109.
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 Stephenson County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $89.7 million — $79.8 million to run schools, about $23,109 per student, plus $7.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $27 million local (mostly property tax), $47.8 million state, $15.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $40 million.
Spent $14 million — $11.4 million to run schools, about $14,065 per student, plus $2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.1 million state, $1.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.7 million.
Spent $12.5 million — $11.3 million to run schools, about $15,009 per student, plus $187,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $5.8 million state, $923,000 federal. Long-term debt: $11.7 million.
Spent $7.9 million — $7.2 million to run schools, about $17,052 per student, plus $43,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.3 million local (mostly property tax), $3.7 million state, $970,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.5 million.
Spent $6.2 million — $5.2 million to run schools, about $16,288 per student, plus $499,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.3 million local (mostly property tax), $2.6 million state, $658,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.9 million.
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 Stephenson County about $28.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
340 bridges in Stephenson County: 203 in good condition, 126 fair, and 11 poor (3.2%). “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.
| HANCOCK AVENUE over PECATONICA RIVER · built 1952 | 1,300 vehicles a day |
| N. PARK ROAD over YELLOW CREEK · built 1919 | 950 vehicles a day |
| OLD IL 26 over RICHLAND CK&C WIS RR · built 1929 | 475 vehicles a day |
| OLD IL 26 over E BR RICHLAND CREEK · built 1927 | 475 vehicles a day |
| NORTH DAKOTA RD over BRANCH CEDAR CREEK · built 1943 | 375 vehicles a day |
| FARWELL BRIDGE ROA over PECATONICA RIVER · built 1971 | 300 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $8 million of work in Stephenson County in fiscal 2025, about $179 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 Stephenson 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 Stephenson County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Green County, WI (23 mi) · Carroll County (23 mi) · Winnebago County (26 mi) · Ogle County (28 mi) · Jo Daviess County (28 mi) · Lafayette County, WI (32 mi).