15,928 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.4% since 2020)
714 square miles of land · 22 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.
10 active community water systems list Wayne County in the area they serve, reporting 15,662 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| FAIRFIELD surface water · local government · IL1910100 | 5,998 served |
| WESTERN WAYNE WATER DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · IL1910010 | 3,253 served |
| FAIRFIELD RURAL WATERWORKS--JASPER buys surface water · private · IL1910020 | 1,578 served |
| FAIRFIELD RURAL WATERWORKS--NEW HOPE buys surface water · local government · IL1915100 | 1,285 served |
| WAYNE CITY surface water · local government · IL1910450 | 1,239 served |
| FAIRFIELD RURAL WATERWORKS--BOYLESTON buys surface water · private · IL1915050 | 948 served |
| CISNE groundwater · local government · IL1910050 | 634 served |
| JEFFERSONVILLE (GEFF) groundwater · local government · IL1910200 | 355 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 18 people were held in Wayne County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 185 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 25.
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 Wayne County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $10.4 million — $9 million to run schools, about $14,738 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.5 million state, $2.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.6 million.
Spent $7.9 million — $7.1 million to run schools, about $14,385 per student, plus $139,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $1.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.7 million.
Spent $7.5 million — $6.8 million to run schools, about $15,036 per student, plus $371,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $944,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.3 million.
Spent $7.1 million — $6.4 million to run schools, about $17,153 per student, plus $557,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $4.5 million state, $1.1 million federal.
Spent $3 million — $2.4 million to run schools, about $12,040 per student, plus $621,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $766,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.8 million state, $596,000 federal. Long-term debt: $223,000.
Spent $2.7 million — $2.6 million to run schools, about $15,023 per student, plus $15,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $625,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.9 million state, $588,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.7 million.
Spent $1.7 million — $1.5 million to run schools, about $16,696 per student, plus $202,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $282,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $513,000 federal. Long-term debt: $25,000.
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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wayne County about $13.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
265 bridges in Wayne County: 146 in good condition, 98 fair, and 21 poor (7.9%). “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.
| FAS-797 over DEER CREEK · built 1973 | 1,600 vehicles a day |
| FAS-800 over ELM RIVER · built 1948 | 800 vehicles a day |
| WATKINS STREET over DEER CREEK · built 1909 | 400 vehicles a day |
| FAS-2821 over MARTIN CREEK · built 1986 | 350 vehicles a day |
| CH-21 over OWENS CREEK · built 2006 | 325 vehicles a day |
| TR-426 over MARTIN CREEK · built 1909 | 100 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.9 million of work in Wayne County in fiscal 2025, about $117 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Illinois: the state government and every county in Illinois.
Nearby counties: Edwards County (21 mi) · Clay County (22 mi) · Hamilton County (25 mi) · Richland County (27 mi) · White County (27 mi) · Jefferson County (28 mi).