Kankakee County, Illinois is overwhelmingly agricultural in the 2025 land-cover summary, with agriculture accounting for 79.99%. Developed land is the clear second-largest class at 12.76%, followed by forest at 3.96%, grassland at 1.18%, and wetlands at 1.12%. A large central developed area and an east-west water-and-wetland corridor create the strongest breaks in the otherwise broad farm grid.
The page includes four separate map views: overall land cover, forest and farmland, impervious/developed land, and 1985–2025 class differences. The four original JPG maps are available together in one download. Use the set to compare the county’s dominant farm landscape with the central built area, riverside or wetland cover, hard-surface intensity, and mapped differences between the two comparison years.
Table of Contents
A broad farm grid surrounds a central developed area and a narrow water-wetland corridor
Agricultural cover fills most of the west, south, north, and eastern interior. Large yellow field blocks are crossed by a regular road grid, producing a very different texture from the central part of the county. Near the middle, red developed cover expands into the largest built cluster on the map. Smaller developed nodes appear to the north and east, with additional compact patches in the southwest and southeast.
A blue and teal corridor crosses the county through the central area and continues eastward. It passes along the edge of the main developed cluster, widens in several places, and joins broader wetland patches toward the east. Smaller water and wetland pieces also appear in the northwest and near the southern part of the central corridor. The shapes are narrow compared with the farm blocks, but they stand out because they cut across the dominant agricultural background.
Forest is a minor countywide class at 3.96%, yet the green patches are not evenly scattered. Wooded cover appears along parts of the central water corridor, in the northwest, and in a denser group of small patches in the southeast. Another group is visible toward the northeast. These wooded pieces matter most where they interrupt field blocks or sit next to wetlands and water.
The forest-and-farmland view makes the agricultural majority and natural corridors easier to separate
When developed land is simplified to a light neutral class, the scale of the agricultural landscape becomes even clearer. Cropland covers most of the county and remains continuous across large western and southern areas. The central built area becomes a large pale opening, while the water-and-wetland corridor is easier to follow through that gap and toward the eastern side.
The western half contains a few mixed patches near the northwest edge and along the central corridor, but most of the remaining area is cropland. In the southeast, the pattern becomes more fragmented. Small forest pieces, wetlands, and other non-cropland cover are interspersed with fields. The northeast also contains a localized group of forest and wetland patches that differs from the more uniform farm grid around it.
Grassland is listed at 1.18% and shrubland at only 0.06%. Grassland appears in small patches rather than as a broad countywide belt, and shrubland is even more limited. Water is 0.65% on this summary, while wetlands account for 1.12%. These smaller classes are best read as interruptions within the farm landscape rather than as dominant land-cover systems.
Hard surfaces are concentrated in the central settlement rather than spread evenly across the county
Impervious surface means hard cover such as pavement, parking areas, and rooftops where water does not readily soak into the ground. Kankakee County has a mean impervious value of 4.39%, and 2.89% of the county reaches 50% impervious or greater. Those figures are lower than the 12.76% developed-land share because developed land-cover classes can include lawns, trees, bare soil, and other surfaces that still absorb water.
The darkest impervious values form a dense patch in the central developed area. Pockets in the 80–100% range sit among broader 20–49% and 50–79% zones, while lighter road lines extend outward into agricultural land. A separate northern cluster and a smaller eastern cluster are also easy to distinguish. The southwest and southeast contain compact high-value nodes, but they occupy much less area than the central concentration.
Most farm areas remain nearly white or very pale on the impervious map even though the road network is clearly visible. This contrast is useful when comparing the map with the general developed-land layer. Developed cover tells where built land-cover classes occur, while the impervious layer shows how much of each place is actually covered by hard surfaces.
The 1985–2025 comparison highlights developed-class differences around the main built centers
The class-difference map reports 7.23% of the county with a different mapped class between 1985 and 2025. Of that total, 2.64% is classified as developed in 2025, 0.12% is forest loss, 1.03% is agricultural loss, and 3.39% is other class difference. The “other” category is the largest component, but the developed-class difference is also substantial and forms some of the largest colored patches.
Red developed differences are concentrated around the current central built area and the northern developed node. Additional red patches follow several smaller settlements and road-connected areas. Yellow agricultural-loss cells are more scattered, with a noticeable concentration in the southeast and smaller groups around the larger developed clusters. Forest-loss cells remain limited, consistent with the low 0.12% summary value.
Purple other-class differences are dispersed across all parts of the county, with clusters of small cells in the northwest and southeast. A changed classification can represent actual surface change, but not every colored cell should be treated as a physical land-use conversion. Imagery conditions, vegetation, moisture, classification methods, and mixed pixels can also affect the result, which is why the map notes that classification variation may be included.
The central corridor is the best reference point for comparing all four maps
The overall land-cover map is the best first view because it places the central development, farm grid, water, wetlands, and forest patches on one page. The forest-and-farmland version then removes much of the developed color and makes the size of the agricultural majority easier to judge. It also helps isolate the southeast forest patches and the natural cover following the central corridor.
Thirty-meter raster cells simplify narrow roads, small wooded patches, and wetland edges
Annual NLCD products are commonly represented with roughly 30-meter raster cells. A raster divides the ground into a grid and assigns each cell a representative class or value. Where a cell contains several surfaces—such as a road beside cropland, water beside wetland vegetation, or a small forest patch next to a field—the mapped result may simplify that mixed ground into one category.
This matters in Kankakee County because many roads are narrow, the central water-and-wetland corridor has irregular edges, and southeastern forest patches can be small. The map is not a parcel survey. Wetland colors do not establish legal wetland boundaries, developed classes do not define zoning or building rights, and forest colors do not identify ownership or protected status.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do agriculture and development differ across Kankakee County?
Agriculture covers 79.99% and dominates most of the county, while the 12.76% developed share is concentrated in a large central cluster and several smaller northern, eastern, southwest, and southeast nodes.
Why is developed land 12.76% while mean impervious cover is 4.39%?
Developed land-cover classes can include lawns, trees, soil, and other permeable surfaces. The highest hard-surface values are concentrated in the central built area and smaller settlement nodes rather than spread evenly across all developed land.
Does the 7.23% 1985–2025 class difference equal physical land-use change?
Not necessarily. Real surface change may be included, but imagery, vegetation, moisture, classification methods, and mixed pixels can also affect the comparison. The map reports 2.64% classified as developed and 3.39% other class difference.
Map File Information
The download combines four original JPG maps for Kankakee County: 2025 land cover, forest and farmland, impervious/developed land, and the 1985–2025 land-cover class comparison.
- Included Versions: Land Cover Map, Forest & Farmland Map, Impervious/Developed Land Map, and 1985–2025 Land Cover Change Map
- File Type: One ZIP containing four JPG files
- Intended Use: agriculture/development comparison, water and wetland review, impervious-surface patterns, class-change reference, printing, teaching, and presentations
Related Maps
- Adams County Illinois Land Cover Map
- Alexander County Illinois Land Cover Map
- Bond County Illinois Land Cover Map
Sources and references
- MRLC Annual NLCD Data – official access point for Annual NLCD land-cover and impervious-surface products.
- USGS Annual NLCD Land Cover Classification – official documentation for land-cover classes and raster interpretation.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – official geographic boundary source for Kankakee County.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data.
These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
