● Ranked from real Illinois data · 2024-25 season
Best counties to lease or own hunting land in Illinois
Illinois counties where private hunting access is worth the most — strong deer harvest AND very little public land, so a hunter has real demand and nowhere free to go. If you own ground here, this is what it's worth.
#1Jefferson County5,120 deer · 5.2% public5.2% public→#2Pike County4,724 deer · 1.1% public1.1% public→#3Fulton County4,267 deer · 2.6% public2.6% public→#4Adams County4,249 deer · 2.7% public2.7% public→#5Randolph County4,148 deer · 3.4% public3.4% public→#6Fayette County4,025 deer · 2.6% public2.6% public→#7Marion County3,885 deer · 1.2% public1.2% public→#8Macoupin County3,533 deer · 0.2% public0.2% public→#9Williamson County3,400 deer · 0.2% public0.2% public→#10Wayne County3,288 deer · 0.7% public0.7% public→#11Hancock County3,185 deer · 0.3% public0.3% public→#12Jackson County3,340 deer · 16.4% public16.4% public→
How this list is ranked
Ranked by opportunity = reported deer harvest (normalized) × private-land scarcity (1 − huntable public %). Strong harvest with little public land ranks highest. A relative guide from public data, not an appraisal.
Data year: 2024-25 season. Each row links to its full page with every number cited to its agency source. A place missing a signal is never guessed — it simply can't rank.
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