Carbondale, Illinois demographics

Carbondale, IL demographics: median age 24.6; 48.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Carbondale city, Illinois · Incorporated city · GEOID 1711163. The survey estimates a population of 22,158 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Carbondale is 24.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.3 years. There are 9,714 households (±424). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	24.6 ±0.3	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,158
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Under 18	2,966 ±319	13.4% ±1.4 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	12,092 ±748	54.6% ±3.4 pp	22.7%	22.8%
35–64	4,898 ±462	22.1% ±2.1 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	2,202 ±317	9.9% ±1.4 pp	17.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,158
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Male	11,258 ±339	50.8% ±1.5 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	10,900 ±338	49.2% ±1.5 pp	50.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,158
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
White alone	12,616 ±466	56.9% ±2.1 pp	61.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	5,854 ±365	26.4% ±1.6 pp	13.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	9 ±17 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,621 ±175	7.3% ±0.8 pp	6.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	12 ±20 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	598 ±294	2.7% ±1.3 pp	7.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,448 ±312	6.5% ±1.4 pp	10.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,158
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	20,591 ±323	92.9% ±1.4 pp	81.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,567 ±317	7.1% ±1.4 pp	18.8%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,714
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,490 ±221	15.3% ±2.2 pp	45.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	339 ±137	3.5% ±1.4 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,180 ±241	12.1% ±2.4 pp	11.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,127 ±471	52.8% ±4.3 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,578 ±257	16.2% ±2.5 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,714
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,517 ±248	15.6% ±2.5 pp	28.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,197 ±456	84.4% ±2.9 pp	71.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,714
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,127 ±471	52.8% ±4.3 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,132 ±307	21.9% ±3.0 pp	32.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,278 ±281	13.2% ±2.8 pp	14.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	710 ±191	7.3% ±1.9 pp	12.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	242 ±99	2.5% ±1.0 pp	5.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	96 ±101 · low precision	1.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	129 ±78 · low precision	1.3% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.3%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 22,158
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Native	19,910 ±342	89.9% ±1.5 pp	85.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	2,248 ±342	10.1% ±1.5 pp	14.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 21,453
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
English only	18,555 ±504	86.5% ±2.2 pp	76.0%	77.7%
Spanish	751 ±278	3.5% ±1.3 pp	14.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	54 ±73 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	15 ±21 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	73 ±67 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	924 ±190	4.3% ±0.9 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	219 ±176 · low precision	1.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	123 ±88 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	2 ±4 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	60 ±56 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	144 ±102 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	444 ±298 · low precision	2.1% ±1.4 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	89 ±65 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 10,523
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	498 ±175	4.7% ±1.7 pp	9.5%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,888 ±314	17.9% ±2.9 pp	25.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,433 ±370	23.1% ±3.4 pp	19.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	637 ±151	6.1% ±1.4 pp	8.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,620 ±321	24.9% ±2.9 pp	22.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,447 ±317	23.3% ±2.9 pp	15.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 21,882
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Same house	13,876 ±741	63.4% ±3.4 pp	88.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,146 ±595	14.4% ±2.7 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,585 ±315	11.8% ±1.4 pp	2.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,966 ±385	9.0% ±1.8 pp	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	309 ±205 · low precision	1.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

5.3% of Carbondale residents (±1.0 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Illinois and 8.4% nationally. 85.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Carbondale	Illinois	U.S.	Compared with Illinois
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	5.3% ±1.0 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.3% ±3.5 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.2% ±0.7 pp	4.8%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Carbondale . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Carbondale housing and cost context or return to the city profile.