Chicago's demographics show that it is a large, and ethnically and culturally diverse metropolis. It is the third largest city and metropolitan area in the United States by population. Chicago was home to over 2.7 million people in 2020, accounting for over 25% of the population in the Chicago metropolitan area, home to approximately 9.6 million.
The racial makeup of the city in 2020 was 35.9% White, 29.2% Black, 7% Asian, 1.3% Native American or Alaska Native, 10.8% from two or more races, and 15.8% from some other race. The ethnic makeup of the population is 29.8% Hispanic, with 70.2% belonging to a non Hispanic background. English is the primary language of the city. Christianity is the predominant faith.
During its first century as a city, Chicago grew at a rate that ranked among the fastest growing in the world. Within the span of forty years, the city's population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million by 1890. By the close of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world. Within fifty years of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the population had tripled to over 3 million. The city's population peaked in the 1950 Census, although two of the three most recent Censuses as of have shown moderate growth.
Population
In the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,695,598 people and 1,194,337 households residing within the city limits of Chicago. More than half the population of the state of Illinois lives in the Chicago metropolitan area. The 2000 United States Census had shown the population density of the city itself was 12,750.3 people per square mile (4,923.0/km2), making it one of the nation's most densely populated cities. There were 1,152,868 housing units at an average density of 5,075.8 per square mile (1,959.8/km2).
Of the 1,061,928 households in the 2000 census, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. The median income for a household in the city was $38,625 in 2000, and the median income for a family was $46,748. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. Below the poverty line were 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families.
Racial and ethnic makeup
2021 United States Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates
According to 2021 US Census Bureau American Community Survey one-year estimates, which is conducted annually for cities over 65,000 via sampling, the population of Chicago, Illinois was 36.1% White (32.9% Non-Hispanic White and 3.2% Hispanic White), 28.5% Black or African American, 6.9% Asian, 1.1% Native American and Alaskan Native, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 13.1% Some Other Race, and 14.2% from two or more races.
The White population is the largest racial category and includes the 10.9% of Hispanics who identify as White, with the remaining Hispanics identifying as Other Race (43.5%), Multiracial (40.1%), Black (1.5%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.7%), Asian (0.3%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%). By ethnicity, 28.8% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 71.2% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Chicago, Illinois.
In 2021, 20.4% of the population was foreign born. Of this, 51.8% came from Latin America, 16.8% from Europe, 24.8% from Asia and 6.6% from other parts of the world. In 1996, Chicago had the sixth highest foreign-born population in the United States.
In 2016, the population of Hispanics exceeded that of Blacks to become Chicago's largest minority group with non-Hispanic Whites representing 32.6% of the population, Hispanics at 29.7% of the population, and Blacks at 29.3% of the population. The large Hispanic population is rather recent, with the segregation between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites being low when compared to Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. Over the years neighborhoods have seen gradual ethnic change with White ethnic neighborhoods like Brighton Park transitioning to Hispanic, while former Latino neighborhoods like West Town transition to majority non-Hispanic White.
The vast majority of Chicago Hispanics are of Mexican descent. As of the 2010 Census, 578,100 residents of the City of Chicago, had full or partial Mexican origins.
The Chicago metropolitan area has the third largest African American population, behind only New York City and Atlanta.