Chicago, Illinois Population 2024

2,590,002

Chicago is a city located in Cook County Illinois. Chicago has a 2024 population of 2,590,002. It is also the county seat of Cook County. Chicago is currently declining at a rate of -1.43% annually and its population has decreased by -5.48% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 2,740,076 in 2020.

The average household income in Chicago is $108,346 with a poverty rate of 16.93%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in Chicago is 35.3 years, 34.7 years for males, and 35.9 years for females.

The latest estimate for the population of Chicago, Illinois comes from the US Census Bureau. They confirmed that, in July 2011, there were 2,707,120 people living in the city of Chicago. The population has been estimated to be approximately 2,679,080, with slow growth and declines attributed to violence, tax increases and issues with schools.

This estimate is based on extrapolating the 2010 census data, which reported that the city was home to 2,695,598 people. The 2010 census showed a dramatic drop of almost 7% over the previous ten years, so if the Census Bureau's 2011 figures are correct, they would appear to show Chicago tentatively entering a new period of growth.

The 2016 estimated population of 2.7 million makes Chicago the third largest city in the United States, behind New York City (8.55 million) and Los Angeles (3.97 million). Chicago is by far the largest city in Illinois, with the next largest city, Aurora, being under 200,000 people.

Population of the Chicago Metropolitan Area

Today, Chicago the city makes up only just over a quarter of the wider Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metropolitan Area's population. According to data from the 2010 census, the CJN Metro Area is home to an impressive 9,504,753 people. In 2016, this number is estimated to be around 9,554,598. Like the city of Chicago, the CJN Metro Area is also the third largest in the US, behind New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (20.18 million) and the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (13.34 million) metro areas.

As the population of Chicago itself has gradually fallen, the population of its wider metro area has grown, representing both natural growth in those areas and a gradual move of the city's workforce into its suburbs. Like Chicago itself, the northern suburbs are relatively more affluent than its southern suburbs.

Chicago Diversity

The city's white population is found primarily in the Northern part of the city, and its black community in the Southern part of the city (as can be seen from this map, in which red dots represent Whites, blue dots represent Blacks and orange dots represent Hispanics.) The geographical distribution of race in Chicago is mostly a result of Chicago's historically racist housing allocation policy, which forced its black population into the cheaper Chicago South Side.

Looking back into historical data also shows some interesting trends – non-Hispanic whites made up 59% of the residents of Chicago in 1970, falling to just 31.7% in 2010 – which indicates that many of the people leaving the city over the past few decades for the suburbs have been from among its relatively more affluent white population.

Chicago Census 2010 - further reading

The best source for official data about Chicago from the 2010 census is, of course, the official census website. The census.gov Chicago quick facts page contains not only high-level data on Chicago's population, but also more detailed statistics on the average income in Chicago, the city's age distribution, its businesses, and other important facts.

You can also find some interesting data, including some useful Chicago population maps at the University of Chicago library website and a great news portal covering the 2010 census as it applied to the Windy City at the Chicago Tribune newspaper.

Finally, just as a word of caution to indicate that published statistics aren't always the final word, this article in the Chicago Tribune reports that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is challenging the results of the 2010 census. He believes that the census undercounted the city's population by around 200,000 people. Why is this so important to him? Because millions of dollars of federal subsidies, which are allocated based on relative population, are at stake.

Just around 200 settlers founded the town of Chicago in 1833, and almost immediately this small town on the US frontier became a boom town. Seven years later, the census came to town for the first time and recorded a healthy population of 4,000. Every ten years the census came, and almost every time it registered that the city's population had doubled or more. By the time the 1890 census rolled around, over a million people were living in Chicago, America's second largest city.

Growth, fueled by wave after wave of immigration; continued right up until 1950, where Chicago reached its highest ever population of 3,620,962.

Ever since then, Chicago has, like so many of America's grand cities, been in decline. Almost every census since 1960 has recorded a drop in population – sometimes as much as 10% in a decade – as the city's population gradually moves outwards to the more hospitable surrounding suburbs.

Chicago Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Chicago was:

  • White: 42.41%
  • Black or African American: 28.81%
  • Other race: 11.3%
  • Two or more races: 9.7%
  • Asian: 7.01%
  • Native American: 0.73%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.05%
Land Area (mi²)
227.4 sq mi
Density (mi²)
11,391.30/sq mi
Growth Since 2020
-5.48% (-150,074)
The current population of Chicago, Illinois is 2,590,002 based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates.The last official US Census in 2020 recorded the population at 2,740,076.

Chicago, Illinois Population 2024

Population by Race

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Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White1,154,27942.41%
Black or African American784,07828.81%
Other race307,61411.3%
Two or more races263,9279.7%
Asian190,8017.01%
Native American19,8060.73%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander1,4090.05%

White

Black or African American

Other race

Two or more races

Asian

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Chicago Population by Race

Chicago Population Pyramid 2024

Chicago Median Age

35.3

Total

34.7

Male

35.9

Female

Chicago Adults

There are 2,178,503 adults, (361,148 of whom are seniors) in Chicago.

Chicago Age Dependency

49.8

Age Dependency Ratio

19.9

Old Age Dependency Ratio

29.9

Child Dependency Ratio

Chicago Sex Ratio

Female1,394,21551.22%
Male1,327,69948.78%

Chicago Population by Age

Chicago Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All1,129,9082.3645.654.4
Non Family551,9841.2732.567.5
Married357,4083.3669.530.5
Female163,7863.4937.962.1
Male56,7303.3844.655.4

3.3

Average Family Size

2.36

Average Household Size

45.6%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

Chicago Households and Families

Male

Female

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Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

Chicago Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Chicago Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

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The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 96.04%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among white people with a rate of 67.04%.

Chicago Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

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$53,101

Average Earnings

$57,531

Average Male

$48,167

Average Female

Chicago Earnings by Educational Attainment

Chicago Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

Chicago Language

64.79% of Chicago residents speak only English, while 35.21% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 23.52% of the population.

Chicago Language

Chicago Poverty by Race

rate

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Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
Black767,055212,67227.73%
Hispanic779,787125,27516.07%
White871,22874,2188.52%
Other305,42155,86318.29%
Multiple261,21036,03013.79%
Asian186,93330,39616.26%
Native19,6092,31611.81%
Islander1,37633124.06%

16.93%

Overall Poverty Rate

15.25%

Male Poverty Rate

18.51%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Chicago

The race most likely to be in poverty in Chicago is Black, with 27.73% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Chicago is White, with 8.52% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 2.43%. Among those working part-time, it was 20.03%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 31.17%.

Chicago Poverty

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade27.03%
High School19.91%
Some College15.5%
Bachelors or Greater6.2%

Chicago Poverty Rate by Education

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed38.19%
Male Unemployed30.41%
Female Employed7.84%
Male Employed5.53%

Chicago Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Chicago Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

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mean

median

Income by Household Type

Chicago Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

35.6%

Overall Marriage Rate

37.6%

Male Marriage Rate

33.7%

Female Marriage Rate

Chicago Married by Age and Sex

male

female

Chicago Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

Chicago Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Chicago Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

63,690

Number of Veterans

57,036

Male Veterans

6,654

Female Veterans

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Chicago Veterans by War

count

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Chicago Veterans by Age

count

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Chicago Veterans by Race

Chicago Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

11.71%

Veteran Poverty Rate

29.97%

Veteran Disability Rate

Chicago Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

67.3%

Labor Force Participation

61.7%

Employment Rate

8.2%

Unemployment Rate

Chicago Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

Chicago Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

Chicago Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

59.21%

Born in Chicago

79.76%

Native Born

20.24%

Foreign Born

10.41%

Non Citizen

9.83%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

79.76% of Chicago residents were born in the United States, with 59.21% having been born in Illinois. 10.41% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Chicago Place of Birth

Note: data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

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Year
Population
Growth
Growth Rate
20292,402,409-37,519-1.54%
20282,439,928-37,518-1.51%
20272,477,446-37,519-1.49%
20262,514,965-37,518-1.47%
20252,552,483-37,519-1.45%
20242,590,002-37,518-1.43%
20232,627,520-37,519-1.41%
20222,665,039-32,990-1.22%
20212,698,029-42,047-1.53%
20202,740,07648,5791.8%
20192,691,497-9,471-0.35%
20182,700,968-9,488-0.35%
20172,710,456-5,841-0.22%
20162,716,297-7,709-0.28%
20152,724,006-2,794-0.1%
20142,726,8001,2250.04%
20132,725,5756,5360.24%
20122,719,03910,9720.41%
20112,708,06710,5870.39%
20102,697,48000%
20002,896,016112,2904.03%
19902,783,726-221,346-7.37%
19803,005,072-364,285-10.81%
19703,369,357-181,047-5.1%
19603,550,404-70,558-1.95%
19503,620,962224,1546.6%
19403,396,80820,3700.6%
19303,376,438674,73324.97%
19202,701,705516,42223.63%
19102,185,283486,70828.65%
19001,698,575598,72554.44%
18901,099,850596,665118.58%
1880503,185204,20868.3%
1870298,977186,805166.53%
1860112,17282,209274.37%
185029,96325,493570.31%
18404,470-2,397,939-99.81%
showing: 37 rows

Chicago Population by Year