Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-10
23 of Illinois's 102 counties — 23% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 16th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Brown County (83/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Illinois: no building codes → Illinois: no codes, no zoning → Illinois: owner-builder → Illinois: rv living → Illinois: tiny homes → Illinois: no minimum home size → Full Illinois profile →
From the Illinois guide
Illinois has 23 counties without countywide zoning, including Brown County, Schuyler County, Crawford County, Clark County, Clay County, Wayne County, Greene County, Richland County.2 Countywide zoning is present in 65 counties, and we could not confirm the zoning answer in 14 counties.89 Compare the Illinois counties with no zoning before choosing a parcel.2
Illinois has 19 counties combining no residential building permit with no countywide zoning; the combined county list helps narrow that search.10 Where county zoning applies, setback distances depend on the applicable district or local ordinance, and agricultural buildings may still have to meet setback lines.16 Even in a county without zoning, a new private sewage disposal system needs plan approval before construction.3
From the Illinois guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
23 of 102 Illinois counties · sorted by Index score
Zoning regulations are published only for the City of Mt. Sterling (Chapter 40); no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated Brown County was found.
Brown County - Code of Ordinances ↗Countywide zoning in Schuyler County, based on the county’s 2021 Highway Plan. The source states that the county did not have zoning at the time of the 2021 plan. The county’s s…
Schuyler County Highway 20-Year Plan 2021 ↗No countywide zoning office or zoning ordinance is listed for Crawford County; zoning is administered by municipalities like the City of Robinson rather than the county.
Crawford County, Illinois - County Government ↗Wayne County's official government site lists no planning or zoning department; the non-home-rule county has no county-wide zoning ordinance found (zoning is administered by mun…
Wayne County, Illinois (official) ↗The official county departments directory lists no zoning or planning department, indicating the county does not administer countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Clark County, IL — Departments ↗The county's own offices list no planning or zoning department; only individual townships (e.g., Clay Township) have their own zoning ordinances, indicating no countywide zoning.
Clay County, Illinois - Official Website ↗Unincorporated portions of Richland County. The memorandum separately identifies county floodplain, setback-line, subdivision, solar-farm, and trailer-park ordinances. Municipal…
Status of Zoning in Unincorporated Portions of Richland County, Illinois ↗No county zoning or planning department exists in Greene County's department listing, indicating no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas.
Greene County IL Government ↗Countywide zoning management ordinance administered by Gallatin County. The source states that Gallatin County has no zoning management ordinance; floodplain, environmental, sub…
Gallatin County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan ↗County-administered zoning across Effingham County, with the county statement understood subject to incorporated municipal zoning and municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction. Th…
GIS & Maps - Effingham County, Illinois ↗County zoning in Hancock County. The source states that the county itself has no zoning; incorporated municipalities may have separate local rules.
hancockcounty-il.gov ↗County zoning in the unincorporated area of White County, Illinois. The official letter states that the unincorporated area has no zoning ordinances on file. Before building, th…
County Clerk | White County, IL ↗No planning/zoning department is listed among Hamilton County's offices and no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas was found; land-use controls exist only withi…
Hamilton County, IL - County Departments ↗No county planning or zoning department or ordinance is listed; land use in unincorporated areas is not county-zoned.
Saline County IL - Official Website ↗No county zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas was found; the only zoning administration documented is the City of Newton's municipal zoning ordinance.
City of Newton / Jasper County IL - Zoning ↗County-administered zoning in unincorporated Cumberland County, Illinois. This conclusion concerns the county's own zoning authority and does not determine rules adopted by inco…
Cumberland County Comprehensive Plan Draft ↗Edwards County jurisdiction listed in the official countywide ordinance inventory. The source is the Edwards County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan and its ordinance inventory is d…
Edwards County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan ↗No county zoning or planning department exists; the Real Property Committee only 'reviews and recommends' potential land-use policy, indicating no adopted countywide zoning ordi…
Jackson County IL - Real Property Committee ↗County zoning in the unincorporated parts of Macoupin County. Properties inside city or village limits may be subject to that municipality's zoning requirements.
Licenses, Permits & Zoning Information ↗Parcels in the unincorporated areas of Coles County outside the zoning jurisdictions of Mattoon, Charleston, Oakland, Lerna, Humboldt, and Ashmore. Municipal zoning jurisdiction…
Coles County Zoning ↗No county zoning or planning department appears in Pulaski County's official department directory; municipal zoning is handled within incorporated towns only.
Pulaski County IL official website (departments) ↗County zoning in rural and unincorporated areas of Montgomery County. Municipal zoning requirements may apply inside incorporated municipalities. Septic, subdivision, floodplain…
County Coordinator – Montgomery County, Illinois ↗No planning or zoning department appears among the county's listed offices, consistent with this small rural non-home-rule county having no countywide zoning.
Scott County, Illinois - Official Website ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Illinois state page for all 102 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Illinois counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
