16,886 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.4% since 2020)
413 square miles of land · 41 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 Union County in the area they serve, reporting 13,391 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ANNA buys groundwater · local government · IL1810050 | 4,910 served |
| LICK CREEK PWD buys surface water · local government · IL1815100 | 2,365 served |
| JONESBORO buys groundwater · local government · IL1810250 | 1,799 served |
| COBDEN groundwater · local government · IL1810150 | 1,267 served |
| ALTO PASS WATER DISTRICT buys groundwater · local government · IL1815150 | 1,015 served |
| SHAWNEE VALLEY PWD buys groundwater · local government · IL1815550 | 738 served |
| DONGOLA buys groundwater · local government · IL1810200 | 736 served |
| CHOATE MHC buys groundwater · state · IL1815500 | 533 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 6 people were held in Union County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (1993), or 53 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 1988 it was about 6.
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.
7 school districts have their office in Union County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $11.7 million — $9.8 million to run schools, about $17,064 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6.5 million state, $3.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $727,000.
Spent $9.8 million — $8.2 million to run schools, about $16,437 per student, plus $1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.5 million local (mostly property tax), $5.6 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.1 million.
Spent $10.7 million — $7.8 million to run schools, about $16,819 per student, plus $2.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.9 million local (mostly property tax), $6 million state, $580,000 federal. Long-term debt: $7.5 million.
Spent $5.7 million — $5.1 million to run schools, about $14,827 per student, plus $337,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $4 million state, $984,000 federal. Long-term debt: $673,000.
Spent $5.9 million — $5.1 million to run schools, about $17,947 per student, plus $549,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.1 million local (mostly property tax), $4.7 million state, $1 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.2 million.
Spent $5.4 million — $3.7 million to run schools, about $15,685 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $1.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $754,000.
Spent $1.9 million — $1.6 million to run schools, about $11,568 per student, plus $185,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $489,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $292,000 federal. Long-term debt: $167,000.
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 Union County about $14.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
188 bridges in Union County: 101 in good condition, 80 fair, and 7 poor (3.7%). “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 57 SB & US 51 over FAS 926-BIG CREEK · built 1959 | 6,700 vehicles a day |
| I 57 NB & US 51 NB over FAS 926-BIG CREEK · built 1959 | 6,700 vehicles a day |
| ILL 146 over CYPRESS CREEK · built 1931 | 4,650 vehicles a day |
| ILL 146 over CLEAR CREEK · built 1976 | 4,050 vehicles a day |
| FAS 924 over BRADSHAW CR · built 1981 | 2,150 vehicles a day |
| CH 3 over LITTLE CREEK · built 1935 | 600 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $8.1 million of work in Union County in fiscal 2025, about $468 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 Union 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 Union County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Pulaski County (20 mi) · Johnson County (20 mi) · Alexander County (22 mi) · Jackson County (22 mi) · Williamson County (24 mi) · Cape Girardeau County, MO (25 mi).