About Chatham

Chatham is a somewhat small town located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 9,488 people and just one neighborhood, Chatham is the 217th largest community in Illinois.

Chatham is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 88.34% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Chatham is a town of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chatham who work in office and administrative support jobs (17.34%), management occupations (12.18%), and sales jobs (11.59%).

Also of interest is that Chatham has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Chatham is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Chatham's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

Chatham is a very car-oriented town. 98.48% of residents commute to work in a private automobile rather than by other means, such as public transit, bicycling, or walking. This is because Chatham is a small town, and most people who live here have to drive out of town for work, and the town population is not large nor dense enough to support an extensive public transportation system. Chatham has a lot of rural roads, and houses can be far apart. Many residents drive out of town for regular shopping trips as well.

As is often the case in a small town, Chatham doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Chatham Information and Demographics

The population of Chatham is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 36.51% of adults in Chatham have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Chatham in 2000 was $23,136, which is upper middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $92,544 for a family of four. However, Chatham contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Chatham home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Chatham is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Chatham include German, Irish, English, Italian, Polish, and French.

The most common language spoken in Chatham is English.