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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Chicago, IL
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Chicago profile


Living in Chicago



Chicago is an enormous city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 2,665,039 people and 792 constituent neighborhoods, Chicago is the largest community in Illinois. Much of the housing stock in Chicago was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Chicago real estate is some of the most expensive in Illinois, although Chicago house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

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

A relatively large number of people in Chicago telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 12.33% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

One thing noticeable about Chicago, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That’s because Chicago is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Chicago a great place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun. In fact, Chicago is one of the top larger cities in America for educated single professionals to flock.

One downside of living in Chicago, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 34.97 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Chicago is a big city, and with that comes lots of benefits. One benefit is that most big cities have public transit, but Chicago really shines when it comes to the extensiveness and use of its public transit system. More than most large American cities, Chicago citizens use public transit daily to get to and from work. And while there are transportation options, most people in Chicago ride the bus. Whereas in some cities one is destined to sit in traffic every morning to get to work and every evening to get home, in Chicago a lot leave their cars at home (if they even choose to own one), and hop a ride on the bus.

The education level of Chicago ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Chicago, 41.67% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Chicago in 2018 was $41,821, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $167,284 for a family of four. However, Chicago contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Chicago is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Chicago home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chicago residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Chicago also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 28.73% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Chicago include German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and English.

In addition, Chicago has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (20.18%).

The most common language spoken in Chicago is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.