City in Illinois
Chicago, IL
City and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America.
- Population
- 2,721,308 (2024)
- Density
- 11,949 / sq mi
- Land area
- 227.7 sq mi
- Water area
- 6.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 587 ft
- Founded
- 1837
- Coordinates
- 41.8370, -87.6849
Resident reviews
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Photos of Chicago
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Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois… · CC BY-SA 2.0
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Roger Deschner · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Canoe Communications · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Franklin Campbell from Chica… · CC BY 2.0
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David Wilson from Oak Park,… · CC BY 2.0
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David Wilson from Oak Park,… · CC BY 2.0
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David Wilson from Oak Park,… · CC BY 2.0
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David Wilson from Oak Park,… · CC BY 2.0
Photos from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses; select a photo for its author and full license.
Trends
$1,112 / mo$1,380 / mo
$58,247$75,134
$258,000$315,200
18.4%16.8%
8.1%7.9%
5853
2025
Survey and county figures by year. Dollar values are not adjusted for inflation.
How Chicago ranks
- #3 Most Walkable Cities of 22 cities · score 79.4
- #5 Greenest Cities of 22 cities · score 71.4
- #9 Best Cities for Healthcare Access of 22 cities · score 57.1
- #10 Most Family-Friendly Cities of 22 cities · score 61.9
- #11 Most Bike-Friendly Cities of 22 cities · score 45.2
- #13 Lowest Student-Teacher Ratios of 96 cities · score 87.4
- #13 Best Cities for Nightlife of 22 cities · score 43.3
- #14 Best Cities for Car-Free Commuting of 100 cities · score 77.3
- #16 Best Cities for Arts & Culture of 22 cities · score 34.0
- #17 Best College Cities of 22 cities · score 30.2
- #18 Best Cities for Food Lovers of 22 cities · score 32.4
- #22 Best Cities for Park Access of 99 cities · score 68.2
- #37 Most Affordable Cities of 100 cities · score 55.3
- #42 Healthiest Cities of 96 cities · score 55.0
- #44 Safest Cities from Natural Disasters of 55 cities · score 32.5
- #46 Best Cities Overall of 100 cities · score 51.6
- #74 Cities with the Cleanest Air of 95 cities · score 27.7
- #80 Best-Connected Cities of 100 cities · score 19.6
Things to do in Chicago
Places mapped within 5 km of the city center. Use the layers control to show or hide categories.
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Parks 542
26th Street Park, Altgeld Park, Armour Square Park…
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Playgrounds 216
Brighton Park Nature Play Space, Brighton Park Playground, Catholic Community of St. James Playlot…
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Restaurants 239
312 Fish Market, 3LP, 5 Rabanitos Restaurante and Taqueria…
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Cafes 79
A Cup of Joe Coffeehouse, Anticonquista CafĂ©, Autea Sweets & Eats…
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Bars & pubs 70
ATE Music House, Alulu Brewery & Pub, Bar Louie…
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Breweries 1
Filbert's Old Time Root Beer…
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Museums 9
Chicago Maritime Museum, Children's Museum of Art and Social Justice, Chinese American Museum of Chicago…
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Chicago Art Department, DragonFLY Gallert & Creative Spaces, Legendary Art Gallery…
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AMC Cicero 14, Art West Chicago, Art of Imagination…
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Libraries 17
Back of the Yards Branch Library, Brighton Park Branch Library, Canaryville Branch Library…
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Castle Car Wash, Chicago Skyline, Chinatown Gate…
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88 Marketplace, Aldi, Aldi…
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Altgeld Park Fieldhouse, Armour Square Park Field House, Arthur S. Keating Sports Center…
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ACCESS Ashland Family Health Center, ACCESS Cabrini Family Health Center, ACCESS Centro MĂ©dico…
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Arturo Velasquez Institute, Cook County Graduate School of Medicine, Illinois Institute of Technology…
Local facts
- Median household income
- $75,134
- Median rent
- $1,380 / mo
- Median home value
- $315,200
- Median age
- 35.7
- Unemployment
- 7.9%
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 43.3%
- Poverty rate
- 16.8%
- Renter-occupied homes
- 54.5%
Public schools
Public schools located in the city, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Staffing figures describe resources, not school quality.
- Public schools
- 655
- Students enrolled
- 325,141
- Students per teacher
- 14.1 : 1
- Free or reduced-price lunch
- 75.8%
- Charter schools
- 18.2%
- School districts serving the city
- 11
Browse all 655 public schools →
Districts: City Of Chicago Sd 299, Betty Shabazz Internl Chrtr Sch, Idjj Sch Dist 428, Dept Of Human Services, Horizon Science Acad-Mckinley Pk
Health & wellbeing
CDC PLACES model-based estimates for adults (age-adjusted), not a count of diagnoses.
- Adults with obesity
- 32.9%
- No leisure-time physical activity
- 25.2%
- Adults with diabetes
- 12.4%
- Adults who smoke
- 12.1%
- Frequent mental distress
- 15.7%
- Sleeping under 7 hours
- 37.9%
- Adults without health insurance
- 13.6%
- Routine checkup in past year
- 76.9%
Parks, air & walkability
- Residents within a 10-minute walk of a park
- 98.2%
- Share of city that is parkland
- 9.1%
- EPA walkability index (1-20)
- 14.6
- Median air quality index (county)
- 53
- Unhealthy air days (county)
- 25
Internet & commuting
- Households with broadband
- 87.4%
- Households with no internet
- 8.6%
- Average commute
- 33.5 min
- Work from home
- 18.3%
- Commute by transit
- 19.3%
- Commute on foot
- 5.7%
- Commute by bike
- 1.4%
Natural hazard risk
FEMA rates Cook County as very high overall for natural hazard risk, with 5 federally declared disasters in the past ten years.
- Cold wave: very high
- Winter weather: very high
- Tornado: very high
- Riverine flooding: very high
Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, FEMA National Risk Index, U.S. Census Bureau ACS, CDC PLACES, NCES Common Core of Data, The Trust for Public Land ParkServe, EPA AirData, EPA Smart Location Database, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata
ZIP codes
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