Colona is a city in Henry County, Illinois, along the Green River. It is part of the Quad Cities metropolitan area. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 Census.

The City of Colona was created in 1997 by the merger of the former City of Green Rock and the former Village of Colona. It was the first community in Illinois to merge by popular vote.

Colona is located at 41°28′32″N 90°20′56″W / 41.47556°N 90.34889°W / 41.47556; -90.34889 (41.475684, -90.348787). Colona lies near the Rock River in a valley, and is surrounded by higher land. This is where the Green River and Hennepin Canal flow into the Rock River (Mississippi River).

According to the 2010 census, Colona has a total area of 4.126 square miles (10.69 km), of which 4.02 square miles (10.41 km) (or 97.43%) is land and 0.106 square miles (0.27 km) (or 2.57%) is water.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	217		—
1920	211		−2.8%
1930	244		15.6%
1940	264		8.2%
1950	319		20.8%
1960	491		53.9%
1970	1,293		163.3%
1980	2,172		68.0%
1990	2,237		3.0%
2000	5,173		131.2%
2010	5,099		−1.4%
2020	5,045		−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2020 census there were 5,045 people, 2,220 households, and 1,473 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,286.33 inhabitants per square mile (496.65/km). There were 2,189 housing units at an average density of 558.13 per square mile (215.50/km). The racial makeup of the city was 88.86% White, 1.03% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.98% from other races, and 7.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.71% of the population.

There were 2,220 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.59% were married couples living together, 10.27% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.65% were non-families. 28.38% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.54% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 2.39.

The city's age distribution consisted of 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 33.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $64,643, and the median income for a family was $76,195. Males had a median income of $51,493 versus $23,167 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,759. About 3.9% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Quad Cities MetroLINK provides bus service on Route 30 connecting Colona to destinations across the Quad Cities.

• City of Colona, official website