Hardin County, Illinois: commercial real estate data.
Hardin County, Illinois had an estimated 3,550 residents on July 1, 2024, down 2.8 percent since the 2020 census base of 3,651, across 178 square miles. County output reached $125.5 m in 2024, 55 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 2 7(a) approvals worth $497,600 since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Hardin County
How many people live in Hardin County
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-20243,605
- Households1,545
- Average household size2.33
- Median household income$54,271
- Median age53.6
- Median gross rent$379 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$103,800
- Home value to household income1.9 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income8.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher13.3 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree5.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over2,899
- Population under 18533
- Share under 1814.8 percent
- Population 65 and over1,076
- Share 65 and over29.8 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 641,996
- Civilian labor force1,305
- Unemployment rate2.8 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over42.5 percent
- Rank by population among Illinois counties102nd of 102
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included2995th of 3,222
Hardin County is the 102nd largest of 102 Illinois counties by population. A median home costs 1.9 times median household income, which is affordable by national standards. Residents 65 and over outnumber those under 18, at 29.8 percent against 14.8 percent, which points demand at health care, services and single story product rather than schools.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Hardin County
Is Hardin County's population growing?
- Population, July 1, 20243,550
- Census 2020 base population3,651
- Population change since the 2020 census base-2.77 percent
- Population change, 2023 to 2024-49
- Births, 202430
- Deaths, 202484
- Natural change, 2024-54
- Net domestic migration, 20246
- Net international migration, 2024-1
- Total net migration, 20245
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 2024107
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents2694th of 3,144
The county has lost 2.77 percent of its population since the 2020 census base. Deaths exceeded births in 2024 by more than net migration added, so the population fell even though more people moved in than left.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
Hardin County
Where are people moving to Hardin County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving47
- People arriving, from those returns90
- Tax returns filed by households leaving68
- Net household movement-21
- Adjusted gross income arriving$2.2 m
- Net adjusted gross income movement$-155,000
- Average income of an arriving household$47,574
- Average income of a leaving household$35,162
- Largest single destinationSaline County (21 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|
Households arriving report $12,412 more average income than households leaving, so the migration is raising local spending power rather than just moving it around.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Hardin County
What is the Hardin County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$125.5 m
- County GDP, 2023$126.6 m
- GDP change, 2023 to 2024-0.9 percent
- GDP change over five years62.4 percent
- Rank by GDP among the Illinois areas BEA publishes101st of 102
- Rank by GDP among the US county areas BEA publishes3023rd of 3,127
- GDP per resident$34,812
Output grew -0.9 percent in the latest year and 62.4 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
Hardin County
Employment by industry in Hardin County
- Covered employment, annual average767
- Establishments reporting57
- Average annual pay$46,177
- Average weekly wage$888
- Health care and social assistance, employment245
- Health care and social assistance, average annual pay$46,186
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, employment91
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, average annual pay$69,221
- Retail trade, employment61
- Retail trade, average annual pay$31,671
- Transportation and warehousing, employment57
- Transportation and warehousing, average annual pay$44,324
- Utilities, employment14
- Other services, except public administration, employment8
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 245 | 5 | $46,186 |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 91 | 4 | $69,221 |
| Retail trade | 61 | 8 | $31,671 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 57 | 7 | $44,324 |
| Utilities | 14 | 4 | $52,207 |
| Other services, except public administration | 8 | 5 | $23,592 |
Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 245 jobs, 31.9 percent of covered employment.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
Hardin County
How many businesses are in Hardin County?
- Establishments, all industries55
- Employment at those establishments568
- Annual payroll$24.0 m
- Establishments per 1,000 residents15.3
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against. County Business Patterns counts private establishments with paid employees in March 2023, while the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages above counts every unemployment-insured employer, public ones included, as a 2024 annual average, so the two establishment and employment counts differ.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Hardin County
Building permits in Hardin County
- Housing units authorized by permit, 20240
- Declared construction value permitted$0
- Single family units authorized0
- Multifamily units authorized0
No residential units were authorized by permit in 2024. In a small county this is common and is not by itself a sign of distress, but it does mean there is no recent residential pipeline to read demand from.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Hardin County
SBA loans in Hardin County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded2
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$497,600
- Average 7(a) approval$248,800
- Median 7(a) approval$248,800
- Largest single approval$382,500
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)29
- Jobs per approval14.5
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active2
- Distinct industries receiving approvals2
- Median 7(a) term150 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer0.0 percent
- Loans on real estate terms0
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter1
- Franchise loans0
- Franchise share of approvals0.0 percent
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Hardin County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in Hardin County
Do SBA loans in Hardin County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded0
- Paid in full0
- Charged off0
- Status: Exempt from disclosure2
Only 0 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Hardin County
SBA lending by place in Hardin County
- Borrower cities with recorded lending2
- Elizabethtown, approvals1
- Rosiclare, approvals1
| Borrower city | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabethtown | 1 | $382,500 |
| Rosiclare | 1 | $115,100 |
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Hardin County
How large is Hardin County?
- Land area178 sq mi
- Rank by land area among Illinois counties101st of 102
- Width, east to west19.4 mi
- Height, north to south13.5 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary6
- Residents per square mile of land20
- Establishments per square mile0.31
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Hardin County
Flood risk in Hardin County
- Participation of the county's own NFIP community Hardin County, unincorporated areasNot participating, community 171002
- Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book4
- Of those, participating in the NFIP3
- NFIP participation rate75.0 percent
- Communities carrying a CRS class0
- Radon levels in Hardin County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/LZone 2
The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated Hardin County (community 171002), does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies there. The EPA places Hardin County in radon zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. 75.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Traffic counts, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Feasibility studies
When a Hardin County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Hardin County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-20243,605
- Households1,545
- Average household size2.33
- Median household income$54,271
- Median age53.6
Common questions
Hardin County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Hardin County, Illinois?
The Census Bureau estimates 3,550 residents on July 1, 2024 (US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024). The American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimate is 3,605, in 1,545 households, ranking 102nd of 102 Illinois counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is Hardin County's population growing?
The population has fallen 2.77 percent since the 2020 census base of 3,651, to 3,550 on July 1, 2024. In 2024 there were 30 births against 84 deaths, with net migration of 5. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in Hardin County?
$54,271. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $103,800, which is 1.9 times income, and median gross rent is $379 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in Hardin County?
55 establishments, employing 568 people with an annual payroll of $24.0 m. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is employment by industry in Hardin County?
Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 245 jobs, 31.9 percent of covered employment. Covered employment averages 767 jobs at an average annual pay of $46,177, or $888 a week. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in Hardin County?
2 7(a) approvals totaling $497,600 since FY2020, across 2 lenders, with a median approval of $248,800. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
How many building permits were issued in Hardin County?
No residential units were authorized by permit in 2024. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for Hardin County?
Zone 2, a predicted average indoor radon screening level from 2 to 4 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Are traffic counts available for Hardin County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for Hardin County?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame, to be confirmed locally.
Hardin County
Cities and places in Hardin.
3 Census places lie wholly or partly in Hardin County. All 3 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA 7(a) approvals, projects in this county | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosiclare | city | 961 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Elizabethtown | village | 396 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Cave-In-Rock | village | 210 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |