Waukegan, Illinois demographics

Waukegan, IL demographics: median age 35.5; 20.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Waukegan city, Illinois · Incorporated city · GEOID 1779293. The survey estimates a population of 89,076 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Waukegan is 35.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.2 years. There are 32,042 households (±851). 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	35.5 ±1.2	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Under 18	20,331 ±1,230	22.8% ±1.4 pp	21.8%	22.0%
18–34	23,688 ±1,355	26.6% ±1.5 pp	22.7%	22.8%
35–64	34,287 ±1,524	38.5% ±1.7 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	10,770 ±824	12.1% ±0.9 pp	17.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Male	45,365 ±1,114	50.9% ±1.2 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	43,711 ±1,154	49.1% ±1.3 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: 89,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
White alone	24,909 ±2,079	28.0% ±2.3 pp	61.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	15,413 ±1,500	17.3% ±1.7 pp	13.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,883 ±692	2.1% ±0.8 pp	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,937 ±899	5.5% ±1.0 pp	6.0%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	60 ±72 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	19,332 ±1,987	21.7% ±2.2 pp	7.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	22,542 ±2,034	25.3% ±2.3 pp	10.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	37,511 ±1,488	42.1% ±1.7 pp	81.2%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	51,565 ±1,544	57.9% ±1.7 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: 32,042
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Married-couple family	13,022 ±718	40.6% ±2.0 pp	45.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,312 ±426	7.2% ±1.3 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	6,004 ±633	18.7% ±1.9 pp	11.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	8,828 ±991	27.6% ±3.0 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,876 ±531	5.9% ±1.6 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,042
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Households with people under 18	10,572 ±663	33.0% ±1.9 pp	28.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	21,470 ±1,258	67.0% ±3.5 pp	71.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,042
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	8,828 ±991	27.6% ±3.0 pp	31.2%	28.7%
Two-person households	8,846 ±984	27.6% ±3.0 pp	32.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,201 ±678	16.2% ±2.1 pp	14.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	4,474 ±560	14.0% ±1.7 pp	12.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	2,798 ±443	8.7% ±1.4 pp	5.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,134 ±245	3.5% ±0.8 pp	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	761 ±215	2.4% ±0.7 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: 89,076
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Native	61,504 ±1,831	69.0% ±2.0 pp	85.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	27,572 ±1,753	31.0% ±2.0 pp	14.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 84,608
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
English only	38,860 ±2,092	45.9% ±2.4 pp	76.0%	77.7%
Spanish	39,868 ±1,943	47.1% ±2.3 pp	14.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	591 ±458 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	70 ±78 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	266 ±187 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	2.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,087 ±360	1.3% ±0.4 pp	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	109 ±91 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	335 ±199 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	65 ±70 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,747 ±717	2.1% ±0.8 pp	0.7%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,065 ±433	1.3% ±0.5 pp	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	172 ±231 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	373 ±249 · 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: 59,026
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	14,577 ±1,146	24.7% ±1.9 pp	9.5%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	16,949 ±1,103	28.7% ±1.8 pp	25.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	11,191 ±972	19.0% ±1.6 pp	19.2%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	3,947 ±650	6.7% ±1.1 pp	8.3%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	8,140 ±1,046	13.8% ±1.8 pp	22.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	4,222 ±607	7.2% ±1.0 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: 88,295
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Illinois	U.S.
Same house	77,193 ±1,837	87.4% ±2.0 pp	88.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	7,082 ±1,578	8.0% ±1.8 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,631 ±436	1.8% ±0.5 pp	2.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,515 ±600	1.7% ±0.7 pp	1.6%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	874 ±375	1.0% ±0.4 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

16.0% of Waukegan residents (±1.3 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Illinois and 8.4% nationally. 90.0% 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	Waukegan	Illinois	U.S.	Compared with Illinois
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	16.0% ±1.3 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	90.0% ±1.5 pp	90.8%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.9% ±0.8 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 Waukegan . 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 Waukegan housing and cost context or return to the city profile.