Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 30,163.^[1] Its county seat is Chester.^[2]

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Randolph County
County
Randolph County Courthouse in Chester
Motto:  Where Illinois Began
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°03′N 89°49′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1795
Named for	Edmund Randolph
Seat	Chester
Largest city	Chester
Area
• Total	597 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Land	576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Water	22 sq mi (60 km2)  3.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	30,163
• Density	51/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th
Website	am.randolphco.org

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Owing to its role in the state's history, the county motto is "Where Illinois Began." It contains the historically important village of Kaskaskia, Illinois's first capital.

The county is part of Southern Illinois in the southern portion of the state known locally as "Little Egypt", and includes fertile river flats, part of the American Bottom; it is near the Greater St. Louis area.

Randolph County was organized in 1795 out of a part of St. Clair County. It was named in honor of Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia. George Rogers Clark of the army of Virginia captured the area from the British on July 4, 1778, near the end of the Revolutionary War. The area then became the seat, for several years, of Illinois County, Virginia, although the Congress of the Confederation legislated the existence of the Northwest Territory on July 13, 1787. Edmund Randolph was Governor of Virginia at the time Virginia ceded the Northwest Territory to the United States. In 1809, when Illinois became a separate territory, Territorial Secretary Nathaniel Pope, in his capacity as acting governor, issued a proclamation establishing Randolph as one of the Illinois' two original counties. The county's boundaries were last changed in 1827, when land was taken to form Perry County.

The Mississippi River has played a prominent role in the county's history, altering its boundaries in 1881 when it severed the isthmus that connected Kaskaskia to the Illinois mainland, destroying the original village of Kaskaskia and forcing its historic cemetery to be relocated across the river to Fort Kaskaskia. Crains Island,^[3] southeast of Chester, is another enclave of Illinois west of the Mississippi that was created by a change in the river's course.

• Randolph County as it was re-established in 1809. This diagonal border line had been drawn by the Indiana Territorial government in 1803.^[4]
• Randolph County between 1812 and 1813
• Randolph County between 1813 and 1816
• Randolph County between 1816 and 1827
• Randolph County in 1827, reduced to its current borders

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 597 square miles (1,550 km²), of which 576 square miles (1,490 km²) is land and 22 square miles (57 km²) (3.6%) is water.^[5]

The Kaskaskia River flows into the Mississippi River in Randolph County. At this point the Mississippi, which usually defines the border between Illinois and Missouri, is entirely in Illinois. The Mississippi changed its course in the late-nineteenth century, leaving Kaskaskia, the former state capital, on the west side of the river. The boundary of the State, however, follows the old course of the river, leaving Illinois with an exclave on the western shore of the Mississippi River. A smaller enclave, Crains Island, is a few miles further down the river.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 33,476 people, 12,314 households, and 8,188 families residing in the county.^[13] The population density was 58.2 inhabitants per square mile (22.5/km²). There were 13,707 housing units at an average density of 23.8 per square mile (9.2/km²).^[5] The racial makeup of the county was 87.6% white, 9.7% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.6% of the population.^[13] In terms of ancestry, 40.3% were German, 11.3% were Irish, 9.4% were English, and 5.7% were American.^[14]

Of the 12,314 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.0 years.^[13]

The median income for a household in the county was $45,020 and the median income for a family was $55,113. Males had a median income of $43,359 versus $28,376 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,950. About 7.0% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.^[15]

The Illinois Department of Corrections Menard Correctional Center is located in Chester.^[16][17] Prior to the January 11, 2003 commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Menard, Tamms, and Pontiac correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row.^[18]

Randolph is a rural conservative county in southern Illinois that has trended Republican since 2000 in presidential elections.

There are two AM radio stations licensed in the county — WHCO 1230AM in Sparta and KSGM 980AM in Chester.

Weekly newspapers in the county are The Randolph County Herald Tribune located in Chester, The County Journal, which is based in Percy and also covers Perry and Jackson Counties, the North County News in Red Bud, and the Sparta News-Plaindealer.

The area is also served by the on-line newspaper based in Chester which is SunTimesNews.com

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Randolph County, Illinois