Chicago, Illinois demographics

Chicago, IL demographics: median age 35.8; 44.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Chicago city, Illinois · Incorporated city · GEOID 1714000. The survey estimates a population of 2,711,226 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Chicago is 35.8 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.1 years. There are 1,160,205 households (±3,944). 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	35.8 ±0.1	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 2,711,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Under 18	525,626 ±5,914	19.4% ±0.2 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	793,417 ±5,815	29.3% ±0.2 pp	22.7%	22.8%
35–64	1,017,518 ±7,462	37.5% ±0.3 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	374,665 ±4,742	13.8% ±0.2 pp	17.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 2,711,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Male	1,317,618 ±4,229	48.6% ±0.2 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	1,393,608 ±4,231	51.4% ±0.2 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: 2,711,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
White alone	977,223 ±7,653	36.0% ±0.3 pp	61.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	755,488 ±6,304	27.9% ±0.2 pp	13.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	29,720 ±2,553	1.1% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	198,842 ±4,428	7.3% ±0.2 pp	6.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	1,433 ±372	0.1% ±0.0 pp	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	372,698 ±8,762	13.7% ±0.3 pp	7.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	375,822 ±9,692	13.9% ±0.4 pp	10.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 2,711,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	1,905,908 ±5,791	70.3% ±0.2 pp	81.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	805,318 ±5,785	29.7% ±0.2 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: 1,160,205
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Married-couple family	358,432 ±3,799	30.9% ±0.3 pp	45.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	58,643 ±2,113	5.1% ±0.2 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	162,702 ±3,373	14.0% ±0.3 pp	11.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	460,268 ±5,593	39.7% ±0.5 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	120,160 ±2,850	10.4% ±0.2 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 1,160,205
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Households with people under 18	270,811 ±3,585	23.3% ±0.3 pp	28.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	889,394 ±6,289	76.7% ±0.5 pp	71.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 1,160,205
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	460,268 ±5,593	39.7% ±0.5 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	342,235 ±5,053	29.5% ±0.4 pp	32.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	149,291 ±3,460	12.9% ±0.3 pp	14.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	113,367 ±2,867	9.8% ±0.2 pp	12.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	55,178 ±1,991	4.8% ±0.2 pp	5.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	22,157 ±1,420	1.9% ±0.1 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	17,709 ±1,159	1.5% ±0.1 pp	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: 2,711,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Native	2,144,343 ±7,108	79.1% ±0.3 pp	85.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	566,883 ±7,118	20.9% ±0.3 pp	14.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 2,567,182
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
English only	1,659,069 ±8,373	64.6% ±0.3 pp	76.0%	77.7%
Spanish	607,865 ±6,194	23.7% ±0.2 pp	14.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	15,490 ±1,595	0.6% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	6,368 ±921	0.2% ±0.0 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	67,932 ±3,530	2.6% ±0.1 pp	2.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	61,672 ±3,193	2.4% ±0.1 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	8,044 ±1,187	0.3% ±0.0 pp	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	52,032 ±2,783	2.0% ±0.1 pp	0.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	7,123 ±1,340	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	20,222 ±1,843	0.8% ±0.1 pp	0.7%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	22,472 ±2,251	0.9% ±0.1 pp	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	13,601 ±1,716	0.5% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	25,292 ±2,452	1.0% ±0.1 pp	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: 1,924,658
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	246,015 ±4,964	12.8% ±0.3 pp	9.5%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	405,248 ±6,398	21.1% ±0.3 pp	25.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	309,069 ±5,332	16.1% ±0.3 pp	19.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	110,842 ±2,817	5.8% ±0.1 pp	8.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	488,467 ±5,689	25.4% ±0.3 pp	22.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	365,017 ±5,467	19.0% ±0.3 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: 2,681,905
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Same house	2,306,430 ±8,735	86.0% ±0.3 pp	88.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	262,365 ±6,955	9.8% ±0.3 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	20,552 ±1,626	0.8% ±0.1 pp	2.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	65,936 ±2,918	2.5% ±0.1 pp	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	26,622 ±3,040	1.0% ±0.1 pp	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

9.8% of Chicago residents (±0.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Illinois and 8.4% nationally. 89.1% 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	Chicago	Illinois	U.S.	Compared with Illinois
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.8% ±0.2 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	89.1% ±0.3 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	2.8% ±0.1 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 Chicago . 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 Chicago housing and cost context or return to the city profile.