Chicago, Illinois had 2,731,585 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #3 nationally and #1 in Illinois. cost of living runs 3.6% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $96,928/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population shrank 0.6% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 2,748,333 → 2025: 2,731,585 (-0.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
2,748,333
April 1, 2020
2020
2,741,640
July 1, 2020
2021
2,705,934
July 1, 2021
2022
2,680,609
July 1, 2022
2023
2,698,758
July 1, 2023
2024
2,726,332
July 1, 2024
2025
2,731,585
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population shrank 0.1% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 2,695,652 → 2019: 2,693,976 (-0.1%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
2,695,652
April 1, 2010
2010
2,697,477
July 1, 2010
2011
2,708,114
July 1, 2011
2012
2,719,141
July 1, 2012
2013
2,725,731
July 1, 2013
2014
2,727,066
July 1, 2014
2015
2,724,344
July 1, 2015
2016
2,716,723
July 1, 2016
2017
2,711,069
July 1, 2017
2018
2,701,423
July 1, 2018
2019
2,693,976
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Chicago?
Median household income is 0% above the U.S. median ($77,902 vs $77,719); 16.8% live in poverty — 4.3 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Chicago from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
77,902+0.2% vs US
±907
Per capita income
50,086+15.7% vs US
±581
Population in poverty
16.8%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 10% above the U.S. median ($334,100 vs $303,400); median rent is 7% above ($1,440 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (4.3×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Chicago. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
5.5%
Chicago (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
1,481,540
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
21.0%+49.9% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Chicago spans 2 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Cook County
13.7%
$82,729
5.4%
DuPage County
6.3%
$110,974
4.3%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Chicago's linked 2 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
475,850
$1,262 / wk
#2
Professional and technical services (54)
293,005
$2,647 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
274,898
$688 / wk
#4
Retail trade (44-45)
267,722
$840 / wk
#5
Manufacturing (31-33)
236,103
$1,639 / wk
What workers earn in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
146,710
$40,030
$19.25
Fast Food and Counter Workers
104,270
$33,020
$15.88
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
94,530
$36,340
$17.47
Stockers and Order Fillers
91,750
$37,940
$18.24
Cashiers
82,020
$33,680
$16.19
Customer Service Representatives
81,630
$45,820
$22.03
Office Clerks, General
74,130
$45,450
$21.85
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
121,110
$105,310
$50.63
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
102,320
$34,910
$16.78
Registered Nurses · benchmark
100,620
$96,480
$46.38
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
54,680
$62,430
$30.02
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 3.6% above the U.S. average (RPP 103.6); utilities run 16.4% below (RPP 83.6) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 103.6
+3.6% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,781/mo
FY2026 · Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
4.95%
flat · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,077/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,975/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Illinois · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
20.9% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (23.7% of residents 5+).
Where Chicago's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
20.9%+49.3% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
64.6%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish23.7%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (84°F avg high). Coldest: January (18°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 37.6 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Chicago from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk spans 97.6–100.0/100 across 2 counties; most-cited top hazard is Winter Weather (in 1 of 2).
Natural-hazard exposure for Chicago from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Chicago spans 2 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Cook County
100.0
Very High
Winter Weather · score 100.0 · Very High
Cold Wave · score 100.0 · Very High
Tornado · score 100.0 · Very High
DuPage County
97.6
Relatively High
Cold Wave · score 99.7 · Very High
Tornado · score 99.3 · Very High
Strong Wind · score 99.2 · Very High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
20 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 52% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Chicago from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
20 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
17
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
51.9%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
51.9%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
1,349,521
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Chicago sits at state rank #1 among 1,294 cities in Illinois. Nearby in the state ranking:
Chicago is ranked #3 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Los Angeles, CA · #2 · 3,869,089 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Houston, TX · #4 · 2,397,315 residents.
Quick travel facts for Chicago
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Chicago Midway International Airport(MDW) ·
5 mi 8 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Sep · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Chicago is 1714000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
