State profile

Illinois

Population, economy, housing, and demographics · ACS 2020–2024

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At a glance

Total population
12,694,798
Median household income
$83,390
People below poverty
11.8%
Median home value
$263,300

Census Insights

  • Illinois had 12,694,798 residents, the 6th highest population among states.
  • The share of people below the poverty level fell from 14.4% to 11.8%.
  • Working from home became more common, rising from 4.2% to 15.9%.
  • Fewer residents lacked health insurance as the uninsured rate fell from 12.3% to 6.9%.
  • The housing vacancy rate was relatively low at 7.7%, the 7th lowest among states.
  • Households without a vehicle were relatively common at 11%, the 6th highest share among states.
  • Public transit use stood out with 5.8% of commuters taking public transportation, the 5th highest share among states.

Income

The median income of households in Illinois was $83,390. An estimated 5.4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 13.8% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.4
$10,000 to $14,999 3.2
$15,000 to $24,999 5.9
$25,000 to $34,999 6.3
$35,000 to $49,999 9.7
$50,000 to $74,999 14.8
$75,000 to $99,999 12.6
$100,000 to $149,999 18
$150,000 to $199,999 10.1
$200,000 or more 13.8

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 72175
Female 58456

An estimated 77.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 29.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.9 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,173. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 77.9
Social Security 29.2
Retirement income 23.9
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.5
Cash public assistance income 2.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 11.8 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 15.1% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 10.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 11% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 11.8
Children under 18 years below poverty 15.1
People 65 years old and over below poverty 10.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 11

In 2020-2024, 13.8 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 44.3% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 38.1% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 32.4% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Illinois in 2020-2024, 93.1% had health insurance coverage and 6.9% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 69.4% and public coverage was 35%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 3.3%.


In 2020-2024, Illinois had a total population of 12,694,798 - 6,422,318 (50.6%) females and 6,272,480 (49.4%) males. The median age was 39 years. An estimated 21.8% of the population was under 18 years, 33.4% was 19 to 44 years, 25.2% was 45 to 64 years, and 17 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Illinois in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 352863 338348
5 to 9 391210 373437
10 to 14 412030 394366
15 to 19 430319 409637
20 to 24 418903 406681
25 to 29 428364 422847
30 to 34 441253 433872
35 to 39 431409 428585
40 to 44 418817 409112
45 to 49 388835 387481
50 to 54 399415 399635
55 to 59 402895 404378
60 to 64 394601 419291
65 to 69 335955 370811
70 to 74 263928 302525
75 to 79 166346 211632
80 to 84 103965 142990
85 and over 91372 166690

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 61% were White; 13.6% were Black or African American; 4.9% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 6% were Asian; 5.1% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 10.9% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 18.8% of the people in Illinois were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 58.1% of the people in Illinois were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 5,036,449 households in Illinois. The average household size was 2.46 people.

Married-couple households made up 45.3% of the households in Illinois while cohabiting couple households made up 7% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 28.5% of all households, while 19.2% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 14.1% of households were male householders living alone, and 17% were female householders living alone, for a total of 31.1% of all households.

In Illinois, 28.6% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 30.8% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 45.3
Cohabiting Couples 7
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
19.2
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
28.5

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 48.6% of males and 45.2% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 39 33.9
Now married, except separated 48.6 45.2
Separated 1.3 1.7
Widowed 2.7 8.4
Divorced 8.3 10.9

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Illinois, 228,305 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 28.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 85.3% of the people living in Illinois were U.S. natives. 66.5% of the Illinois population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 14.7% of Illinois residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 52.3% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 73.2 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Illinois come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Illinois.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 44.1
Asia 30.5
Europe 19.4
Africa 4.6
Northern America 1.1
Oceania 0.3

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Illinois in 2020-2024, 24 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 14% of people at least five years old; 9% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 14
Other Indo-European languages 5.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.1
Other languages 1.2

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 88.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Illinois were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 88.9
Different house, same county 6.4
Different county, same state 2.4
Different state 1.6
Abroad 0.6

Education

In 2020-2024, 90.5 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 37.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 9.6% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Illinois was 3,051,569 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 193,572 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 2,052,661. College or graduate school enrollment was 805,336.

Educational Attainment of People in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 9.6
High school diploma or equivalency 25.1
Some college, no degree 19.2
Associate's degree 8.3
Bachelor's degree 22.6
Graduate or professional degree 15.3

Disability

In Illinois, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 12.1 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.1% of people under 18 years old, to 9.7% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 31.5% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Illinois, 61 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 35% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.8% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.3% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.7 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 5,125,305 81.8
Federal, state, or local government workers 832,975 13.3
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 295,470 4.7

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Illinois worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1
Construction 5.4
Manufacturing 11.5
Wholesale trade 2.6
Retail trade 10.3
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7
Information 1.7
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.9
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.2
Other Services, except public administration 4.6
Public administration 3.8

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Illinois in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 2,709,096 43.3
Service occupations 985,143 15.7
Sales and office occupations 1,221,853 19.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 436,545 7
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 911,127 14.5

Commuting to Work

An estimated 65.9% of Illinois workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 27.8 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 65.9
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 5.8
Walked 2.8
Other means 1.9
Worked from home 15.9

In 2020-2024, Illinois had a total of 5,457,452 housing units. Of these housing units, 64.3% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 33.4% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 2.3% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 64.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 33.4
Mobile homes 2.3
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

5.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 20.2% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Illinois was 5.6 rooms, and of these housing units 57.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Illinois had 5,036,449 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 421,003 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 67.1% while renters occupied 32.9%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.62 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.15.

4.1% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 10.5% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 11% and another 18.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Illinois:

House Heating Fuel Used in Illinois in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 79.5
Electricity 18.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.1
All other fuels 0.9
No fuel used 0.8

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Illinois was $263,300.

Of the owner-occupied households, 60.8 % had a mortgage. 39.2% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,987 and for owners without a mortgage it was $792.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Illinois was $1,274. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.