Mount Olive, Illinois


Mount Olive is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,099 at the 2010 census and is part of the metro east in the St. Louis metropolitan area

Geography

Mount Olive is located at .
According to the 2010 census, Mount Olive has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,150 people, 906 households, and 609 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,948.2 people per square mile. There were 991 housing units at an average density of 898.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.79% White, 0.83% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 1.28% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3% of the population.
There were 906 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city, the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,065, and the median income for a family was $41,765. Males had a median income of $30,709 versus $21,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,172. About 6.1% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

In Mount Olive is located the Union Miners Cemetery where miners killed in the Battle of Virden and community and labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones are buried.
The cemetery sits just south of U.S. Route 66. Soulsby Service Station is the oldest operating station on the historic route in Illinois. It is most easily reached by taking Exit 44 on Interstate 55 and going East off of the exit ramp, then follow the signs to the cemetery.