Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation

Hardin County had the highest annual precipitation of 102 counties in 2016, at 54.12 inches. Brown County had the lowest, at 27.72 inches. The median was 39.35 inches and the figure for Illinois was 39.74 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest54.12Hardin County
Lowest27.72Brown County
Median39.35102 counties
Illinois39.74History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 30.93 inchesAlexander County: 50.87 inchesBond County: 41.56 inchesBoone County: 34.69 inchesBrown County: 27.72 inchesBureau County: 38.43 inchesCalhoun County: 31.77 inchesCarroll County: 37.22 inchesCass County: 31.67 inchesChampaign County: 39.97 inchesChristian County: 37.65 inchesClark County: 42.42 inchesClay County: 45.26 inchesClinton County: 40.2 inchesColes County: 37.83 inchesCook County: 37.21 inchesCrawford County: 44.22 inchesCumberland County: 41.32 inchesDeKalb County: 37.72 inchesDe Witt County: 38.46 inchesDouglas County: 38.1 inchesDuPage County: 38.17 inchesEdgar County: 40.18 inchesEdwards County: 46.16 inchesEffingham County: 43.64 inchesFayette County: 42.04 inchesFord County: 41.82 inchesFranklin County: 50.88 inchesFulton County: 35.84 inchesGallatin County: 51.1 inchesGreene County: 34.41 inchesGrundy County: 40.92 inchesHamilton County: 50.29 inchesHancock County: 31.91 inchesHardin County: 54.12 inchesHenderson County: 34.58 inchesHenry County: 40.02 inchesIroquois County: 38.23 inchesJackson County: 48.05 inchesJasper County: 45.89 inchesJefferson County: 46.74 inchesJersey County: 37.08 inchesJo Daviess County: 39.39 inchesJohnson County: 51.37 inchesKane County: 37.48 inchesKankakee County: 44.07 inchesKendall County: 39.21 inchesKnox County: 35.86 inchesLake County: 33.14 inchesLaSalle County: 40.03 inchesLawrence County: 45.57 inchesLee County: 40.67 inchesLivingston County: 41.2 inchesLogan County: 37.57 inchesMcDonough County: 33.16 inchesMcHenry County: 32.98 inchesMcLean County: 40.09 inchesMacon County: 35.57 inchesMacoupin County: 38.08 inchesMadison County: 42.04 inchesMarion County: 42.18 inchesMarshall County: 39.3 inchesMason County: 35.63 inchesMassac County: 50.44 inchesMenard County: 33.81 inchesMercer County: 37.16 inchesMonroe County: 43.53 inchesMontgomery County: 38.37 inchesMorgan County: 32.41 inchesMoultrie County: 37.29 inchesOgle County: 39.63 inchesPeoria County: 36.86 inchesPerry County: 44.12 inchesPiatt County: 37.76 inchesPike County: 27.87 inchesPope County: 53.46 inchesPulaski County: 51.76 inchesPutnam County: 38.72 inchesRandolph County: 39.03 inchesRichland County: 43.14 inchesRock Island County: 38.66 inchesSt. Clair County: 39.84 inchesSaline County: 53.42 inchesSangamon County: 36.76 inchesSchuyler County: 31.91 inchesScott County: 30.39 inchesShelby County: 41.43 inchesStark County: 35.51 inchesStephenson County: 38.08 inchesTazewell County: 37.97 inchesUnion County: 51.75 inchesVermilion County: 40.7 inchesWabash County: 43.71 inchesWarren County: 35.67 inchesWashington County: 44.14 inchesWayne County: 46 inchesWhite County: 49.8 inchesWhiteside County: 42.9 inchesWill County: 40.6 inchesWilliamson County: 52.97 inchesWinnebago County: 36.64 inchesWoodford County: 38.21 inches
  • Under 36
  • 36 to 38
  • 38 to 39
  • 39 to 42
  • 42 to 46
  • 46 and over
inches, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Hardin County: 54.12 inchesHardin County54.12Pope County: 53.46 inchesPope County53.46Saline County: 53.42 inchesSaline County53.42Williamson County: 52.97 inchesWilliamson County52.97Pulaski County: 51.76 inchesPulaski County51.76Union County: 51.75 inchesUnion County51.75Johnson County: 51.37 inchesJohnson County51.37Gallatin County: 51.1 inchesGallatin County51.1Franklin County: 50.88 inchesFranklin County50.88Alexander County: 50.87 inchesAlexander County50.87Massac County: 50.44 inchesMassac County50.44Hamilton County: 50.29 inchesHamilton County50.29White County: 49.8 inchesWhite County49.8Jackson County: 48.05 inchesJackson County48.05Jefferson County: 46.74 inchesJefferson County46.74Edwards County: 46.16 inchesEdwards County46.16Wayne County: 46 inchesWayne County46Jasper County: 45.89 inchesJasper County45.89Lawrence County: 45.57 inchesLawrence County45.57Clay County: 45.26 inchesClay County45.26Crawford County: 44.22 inchesCrawford County44.22Washington County: 44.14 inchesWashington County44.14Perry County: 44.12 inchesPerry County44.12Kankakee County: 44.07 inchesKankakee County44.07Wabash County: 43.71 inchesWabash County43.71Effingham County: 43.64 inchesEffingham County43.64Monroe County: 43.53 inchesMonroe County43.53Richland County: 43.14 inchesRichland County43.14Whiteside County: 42.9 inchesWhiteside County42.9Clark County: 42.42 inchesClark County42.42Marion County: 42.18 inchesMarion County42.18Fayette County: 42.04 inchesFayette County42.04Madison County: 42.04 inchesMadison County42.04Ford County: 41.82 inchesFord County41.82Bond County: 41.56 inchesBond County41.56Shelby County: 41.43 inchesShelby County41.43Cumberland County: 41.32 inchesCumberland County41.32Livingston County: 41.2 inchesLivingston County41.2Grundy County: 40.92 inchesGrundy County40.92Vermilion County: 40.7 inchesVermilion County40.7Hardin County: 54.12 inchesHardin County54.12Pope County: 53.46 inchesPope County53.46Saline County: 53.42 inchesSaline County53.42Williamson County: 52.97 inchesWilliamson County52.97Pulaski County: 51.76 inchesPulaski County51.76Union County: 51.75 inchesUnion County51.75Johnson County: 51.37 inchesJohnson County51.37Gallatin County: 51.1 inchesGallatin County51.1Franklin County: 50.88 inchesFranklin County50.88Alexander County: 50.87 inchesAlexander County50.87Massac County: 50.44 inchesMassac County50.44Hamilton County: 50.29 inchesHamilton County50.29White County: 49.8 inchesWhite County49.8Jackson County: 48.05 inchesJackson County48.05Jefferson County: 46.74 inchesJefferson County46.74Edwards County: 46.16 inchesEdwards County46.16Wayne County: 46 inchesWayne County46Jasper County: 45.89 inchesJasper County45.89Lawrence County: 45.57 inchesLawrence County45.57Clay County: 45.26 inchesClay County45.26Crawford County: 44.22 inchesCrawford County44.22Washington County: 44.14 inchesWashington County44.14Perry County: 44.12 inchesPerry County44.12Kankakee County: 44.07 inchesKankakee County44.07Wabash County: 43.71 inchesWabash County43.71Effingham County: 43.64 inchesEffingham County43.64Monroe County: 43.53 inchesMonroe County43.53Richland County: 43.14 inchesRichland County43.14Whiteside County: 42.9 inchesWhiteside County42.9Clark County: 42.42 inchesClark County42.42Marion County: 42.18 inchesMarion County42.18Fayette County: 42.04 inchesFayette County42.04Madison County: 42.04 inchesMadison County42.04Ford County: 41.82 inchesFord County41.82Bond County: 41.56 inchesBond County41.56Shelby County: 41.43 inchesShelby County41.43Cumberland County: 41.32 inchesCumberland County41.32Livingston County: 41.2 inchesLivingston County41.2Grundy County: 40.92 inchesGrundy County40.92Vermilion County: 40.7 inchesVermilion County40.7
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
inches
Change on 2015
1Hardin County54.12-12.8%
2Pope County53.46-11.4%
3Saline County53.42-10.5%
4Williamson County52.97-9.1%
5Pulaski County51.76-8.6%
6Union County51.75-12.5%
7Johnson County51.37-12.7%
8Gallatin County51.1-13.3%
9Franklin County50.88-10.2%
10Alexander County50.87-10.4%
11Massac County50.44-12.6%
12Hamilton County50.29-5.1%
13White County49.8-5.7%
14Jackson County48.05-18.7%
15Jefferson County46.74-15.6%
16Edwards County46.16-14.9%
17Wayne County46-13.8%
18Jasper County45.89-9.8%
19Lawrence County45.57-13.8%
20Clay County45.26-18.1%
21Crawford County44.22-8.6%
22Washington County44.14-18.9%
23Perry County44.12-22.4%
24Kankakee County44.07-7.3%
25Wabash County43.71-18%
26Effingham County43.64-17.3%
27Monroe County43.53-20.6%
28Richland County43.14-19.5%
29Whiteside County42.9-9.1%
30Clark County42.42-4.8%
31Marion County42.18-23.8%
32Fayette County42.04-25.8%
32Madison County42.04-23.3%
34Ford County41.82-10.5%
35Bond County41.56-27.3%
36Shelby County41.43-10.4%
37Cumberland County41.32-12.5%
38Livingston County41.2-11.5%
39Grundy County40.92-7.6%
40Vermilion County40.7-15.5%
41Lee County40.67-10.2%
42Will County40.6-9.6%
43Clinton County40.2-22.9%
44Edgar County40.18-9.3%
45McLean County40.09-18.8%
46LaSalle County40.03-9.5%
47Henry County40.02-7.5%
48Champaign County39.97-15.4%
49St. Clair County39.84-26.7%
50Ogle County39.63-9.5%
51Jo Daviess County39.39-8.1%
52Marshall County39.3-17.5%
53Kendall County39.21-11.1%
54Randolph County39.03-33%
55Putnam County38.72-15.3%
56Rock Island County38.66-13.3%
57De Witt County38.46-17.1%
58Bureau County38.43-12%
59Montgomery County38.37-25.3%
60Iroquois County38.23-22.6%
61Woodford County38.21-21.7%
62DuPage County38.17-10.7%
63Douglas County38.1-12.7%
64Macoupin County38.08-28.1%
64Stephenson County38.08-12.6%
66Tazewell County37.97-25.3%
67Coles County37.83-15.4%
68Piatt County37.76-16.8%
69DeKalb County37.72-12.7%
70Christian County37.65-16.3%
71Logan County37.57-18.1%
72Kane County37.48-17.1%
73Moultrie County37.29-13.9%
74Carroll County37.22-21.6%
75Cook County37.21-9.8%
76Mercer County37.16-11.9%
77Jersey County37.08-31%
78Peoria County36.86-23.3%
79Sangamon County36.76-19.1%
80Winnebago County36.64-8.6%
81Knox County35.86-16.1%
82Fulton County35.84-26%
83Warren County35.67-21.6%
84Mason County35.63-24.7%
85Macon County35.57-15.5%
86Stark County35.51-12.9%
87Boone County34.69-15.7%
88Henderson County34.58-22.7%
89Greene County34.41-39.6%
90Menard County33.81-25.6%
91McDonough County33.16-35.6%
92Lake County33.14-16.5%
93McHenry County32.98-20.7%
94Morgan County32.41-33.6%
95Hancock County31.91-30.5%
95Schuyler County31.91-33.8%
97Calhoun County31.77-42.7%
98Cass County31.67-29.4%
99Adams County30.93-36.6%
100Scott County30.39-42.7%
101Pike County27.87-47.5%
102Brown County27.72-42.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_illinois_by_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/illinois-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Illinois by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Hardin County, with 54.12 inches in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Brown County, with 27.72 inches in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings