Schuyler County area

Schuyler County, Illinois covers 441.4 square miles: 437.3 square miles of land and 4.058 square miles of water. Its county seat is Rushville. An estimated 6,657 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 171692026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area437.3 mi²
Water area4.058 mi²
Population (2025)6,657
People per mi²15

County outline

Generalized outline of Schuyler County, Illinois
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Schuyler County is located

Schuyler County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.1% of Schuyler County’s measured area and water for 0.9%. Its combined area converts to 1,143.1 square kilometers or approximately 282,469 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land437.31,132.602279,872
Water4.05810.512,597.1
Total441.3581,143.112282,469.1

How Schuyler County compares

By original Census land area, Schuyler County ranks #65 of 102 in Illinois and #2317 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.856 times the Illinois county-equivalent median of 510.7 square miles. It accounts for 0.8% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Illinois ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Schuyler County

The Census Bureau estimates that 6,657 people lived in Schuyler County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,762 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #90 of 102 in Illinois. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 6,896, the population has declined by 239 (−3.5%), compared with −0.8% for Illinois as a whole.

With 437.3 square miles of land, that is 15 people per square mile (5.9 per km²), placing Schuyler County #2,465 nationally for density and #100 in Illinois. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Illinois median is 44. Put another way, there are about 42 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate6,8656,8336,7476,7086,7236,657
Change—−32−86−39+15−66

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Schuyler County

4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Schuyler County. Together they are home to 3,164 people (47.5%); the other 3,493 (52.5%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Rushville city, with 2,857 residents in the county.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Rushville cityCounty seat2,857−4%1.652
Littleton village134−3.6%1.168
Browning village112−3.4%0.31
Camden village61−3.2%0.761

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Schuyler County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Schuyler County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

12 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Schuyler County; 6 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

614406145261484623116231962344623466235362367626246263962681

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Schuyler County

Schuyler County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Fulton County (865.7 mi²) and the smallest is Brown County (305.7 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Schuyler County forms a block of 4,762 mi² of land, of which it holds 9.2%.

Map of Schuyler County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Brown County, Illinois: 305.7 mi² landMcDonough County, Illinois: 589.3 mi² landFulton County, Illinois: 865.7 mi² landCass County, Illinois: 375.8 mi² landMason County, Illinois: 539.4 mi² landHancock County, Illinois: 793.7 mi² landAdams County, Illinois: 855.2 mi² land
Schuyler County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. SchuylerCompare
Fulton County865.72× largerCompare
Adams County855.22× largerCompare
Hancock County793.71.8× largerCompare
McDonough County589.31.3× largerCompare
Mason County539.41.2× largerCompare
Cass County375.81.2× smallerCompare
Brown County305.71.4× smallerCompare

How big is Schuyler County compared with U.S. states?

Schuyler County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.4 times as much. Illinois’s county land could hold about 127 areas the size of Schuyler County.

Land area: Schuyler County and the closest-sized states
Schuyler County437.3 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 20.9 miles (33.7 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Schuyler County?

Schuyler County has more land than 905 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Schuyler County437.3 mi²
Illinois median510.7 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Schuyler County at #2,384 nationally by total area, 67 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.9%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.2 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Schuyler County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2316Telfair County, Georgia437.3Compare
#2317Schuyler County, Illinois437.3This county
#2318Harford County, Maryland437.1Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 40.156905, -90.613464. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,132,602,766 m²; AWATER: 10,510,633 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Schuyler County?

Schuyler County, Illinois has 437.3 square miles (1,132.6 km²) of land and 4.058 square miles of water, for a total area of 441.4 square miles. It ranks #2317 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Schuyler County the largest county in Illinois?

No. Schuyler County ranks #65 of 102 in Illinois by land area. The largest is McLean County, with 1,183.2 square miles of land.

What counties border Schuyler County?

Schuyler County shares a land border with Brown County, McDonough County, Fulton County, Cass County, Mason County, Hancock County, and Adams County.

What is the population of Schuyler County?

The Census Bureau estimates Schuyler County had 6,657 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,762 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 15 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Schuyler County?

The county seat of Schuyler County is Rushville.

What cities and towns are in Schuyler County?

Schuyler County has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Rushville city, Littleton village, Browning village, and Camden village; 3,493 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Schuyler County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Schuyler County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Schuyler County?

12 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Schuyler County, and 6 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Schuyler County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.4 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Schuyler County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 279,872 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 282,469 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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