Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	2,458		—
1810	12,282		399.7%
1820	55,211		349.5%
1830	157,445		185.2%
1840	476,183		202.4%
1850	851,470		78.8%
1860	1,711,951		101.1%
1870	2,539,891		48.4%
1880	3,077,871		21.2%
1890	3,826,352		24.3%
1900	4,821,550		26.0%
1910	5,638,591		16.9%
1920	6,485,280		15.0%
1930	7,630,654		17.7%
1940	7,897,241		3.5%
1950	8,712,176		10.3%
1960	10,081,158		15.7%
1970	11,113,976		10.2%
1980	11,426,518		2.8%
1990	11,430,602		0.0%
2000	12,419,293		8.6%
2010	12,830,632		3.3%
2019 (est.)	12,671,821		−1.2%
Source: 1910–2010 2019 Estimate

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Illinois was 12,671,821 in 2019, moving from the fifth-largest state to the sixth-largest state (losing out to Pennsylvania). Illinois's population declined by 69,259 people from July 2018 to July 2019, making it the worst decline of any state in the U.S. in raw terms.failed verification This includes a natural increase since the last census of 462,146 people (i.e., 1,438,187 births minus 976,041 deaths) and an decrease due to net migration of 622,928 people. Immigration resulted in a net increase of 242,945 people, and migration from within the U.S. resulted in a net decrease of 865,873 people.

Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest region. Chicago, the third-most populous city in the United States, is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland, as this area is nicknamed. Although Chicagoland comprises only 9% of the land area of the state, it contains 65% of the state's residents.

According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of the state was:

• 71.5% White American (63.7% non-Hispanic white, 7.8% White Hispanic)
• 14.5% Black or African American
• 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
• 4.6% Asian American
• 2.3% Multiracial American
• 6.8% some other race

In the same year 15.8% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race).

According to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Illinois's population was 71.7% White (60.9% Non-Hispanic White), 5.6% Asian, 5.6% Some Other Race, 14.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Native Americans and Alaskan Native, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 2.7% from two or more races. The White population continues to remain the largest racial category in Illinois as Hispanics primarily identify as White (62.2%) with others identifying as Some Other Race (31.2%), Multiracial (3.9%), Black (1.5%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (0.8%), Asian (0.3%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%). By ethnicity, 17.3% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 82.7% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Illinois.

Illinois Racial Breakdown of Population

Racial composition	1990	2000	2010
White	78.3%	73.5%	71.5%
Black	14.8%	15.1%	14.5%
Asian	2.5%	3.4%	4.6%
Native	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	—	—	—
Other race	4.2%	5.8%	6.7%
Two or more races	—	1.9%	2.3%

The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 83.5% in 1970 to 60.90% in 2018. As of 2011update, 49.4% of Illinois's population younger than age 1 were minorities (Note: Children born to white Hispanics or to a sole full or partial minority parent are counted as minorities).

At the 2007 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 1,768,518 foreign-born inhabitants of the state or 13.8% of the population, with 48.4% from Latin America, 24.6% from Asia, 22.8% from Europe, 2.9% from Africa, 1.2% from Canada, and 0.2% from Oceania. Of the foreign-born population, 43.7% were naturalized U.S. citizens, and 56.3% were not U.S. citizens. In 2007, 6.9% of Illinois's population was reported as being under age 5, 24.9% under age 18 and 12.1% were age 65 and over. Females made up approximately 50.7% of the population.

According to the 2007 estimates, 21.1% of the population had German ancestry, 13.3% had Irish ancestry, 8% had British ancestry, 7.9% had Polish ancestry, 6.4% had Italian ancestry, 4.6% listed themselves as American, 2.4% had Swedish ancestry, 2.2% had French ancestry, other than Basque, 1.6% had Dutch ancestry, and 1.4% had Norwegian ancestry. Illinois also has large numbers of African Americans and Latinos (mostly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans).

Chicago, along the shores of Lake Michigan, is the nation's third largest city. In 2000, 23.3% of Illinois's population lived in the city of Chicago, 43.3% in Cook County, and 65.6% in the counties of the Chicago metropolitan area: Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties, as well as Cook County. The remaining population lives in the smaller cities and rural areas that dot the state's plains. As of 2000, the state's center of population was at 41°16′42″N 88°22′49″W / 41.278216°N 88.380238°W / 41.278216; -88.380238, located in Grundy County, northeast of the village of Mazon.

Racial Makeup of Illinois (2018)   White alone (71.70%)   Black alone (14.07%)   Native American alone (0.28%)   Asian Alone (5.63%)   Pacific Islander Alone (0.04%)   Some other race alone (5.59%)   Two or more races (2.68%)

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Illinois excluding Hispanics from racial categories (2018) NH=Non-Hispanic   White NH (60.90%)   Black NH (13.81%)   Native American NH (0.14%)   Asian NH (5.59%)   Pacific Islander NH (0.02%)   Other NH (0.19%)   Two or more races NH (2.01%)   Hispanic Any Race (17.34%)

Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Illinois (2018)   White alone (62.224%)   Black alone (1.53%)   Native American alone (0.84%)   Asian Alone (0.27%)   Pacific Islander Alone (0.11%)   Other race alone (31.17%)   Two or more races (3.86%)

Birth data

Births do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by ethnicity and by race.

Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother

Race	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
White:	119,157 (75.9%)	119,995 (75.7%)	119,630 (75.6%)
Non-Hispanic White	85,866 (54.7%)	86,227 (54.4%)	85,424 (54.0%)	82,318 (53.3%)	78,925 (52.8%)	77,244 (53.3%)
Black	27,692 (17.6%)	28,160 (17.8%)	28,059 (17.7%)	25,619 (16.6%)	25,685 (17.2%)	24,482 (16.9%)
Asian	9,848 (6.3%)	10,174 (6.4%)	10,222 (6.5%)	10,015 (6.5%)	9,650 (6.5%)	9,452 (6.5%)
American Indian	234 (0.1%)	227 (0.1%)	205 (0.1%)	110 (0.0%)	133 (0.1%)	129 (0.1%)
Hispanic (of any race)	33,454 (21.3%)	33,803 (21.3%)	33,902 (21.4%)	32,635 (21.1%)	31,428 (21.0%)	30,362 (21.0%)
Total Illinois	156,931 (100%)	158,556 (100%)	158,116 (100%)	154,445 (100%)	149,390 (100%)	144,815 (100%)

• Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Urban areas

Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third-most populous city in the United States, with its 2010 population of 2,695,598. The U.S. Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100,000 within Illinois. Based upon the Census Bureau's official 2010 population: Aurora, a Chicago satellite town that eclipsed Rockford for the title of second-most populous city in Illinois; its 2010 population was 197,899. Rockford, at 152,871, is the third-largest city in the state, and is the largest city in the state not located within the Chicago suburbs. Joliet, located in metropolitan Chicago, is the fourth-largest city in the state, with a population of 147,433. Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, is fifth with 141,853. Naperville and Aurora share a boundary along Illinois Route 59. Springfield, the state's capital, comes in as sixth-most populous with 117,352 residents. Peoria, which decades ago was the second-most populous city in the state, is seventh with 115,007. The eighth-largest and final city in the 100,000 club is Elgin, a northwest suburb of Chicago, with a 2010 population of 108,188.

The most populated city in the state south of Springfield is Belleville, with 44,478 people at the 2010 census. It is located in the Illinois portion of Greater St. Louis (often called the Metro-East area), which has a rapidly growing population of over 700,000.

Other major urban areas include the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area, which has a combined population of almost 230,000 people, the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities area with about 215,000 people, and the Bloomington-Normal area with a combined population of over 165,000.

v t e Largest cities or towns in Illinois 2018 U.S. Census Bureau Estimate
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Chicago Aurora	1	Chicago	Cook	2,705,994	Naperville Joliet
	2	Aurora	Kane	199,602
	3	Naperville	DuPage	148,304
	4	Joliet	Will	148,099
	5	Rockford	Winnebago	146,526
	6	Springfield	Sangamon	114,694
	7	Elgin	Kane / Cook	111,683
	8	Peoria	Peoria	111,388
	9	Champaign	Champaign	88,029
	10	Waukegan	Lake	86,792

Languages

The official language of Illinois is English, although between 1923 and 1969, state law gave official status to "the American language". Nearly 80% of people in Illinois speak English natively, and most of the rest speak it fluently as a second language. A number of dialects of American English are spoken, ranging from Inland Northern American English and African-American English around Chicago, to Midland American English in Central Illinois, to Southern American English in the far south.

Over 20% of Illinoians speak a language other than English at home, of which Spanish is by far the most widespread, at more than 12% of the total population. A sizeable number of Polish speakers is present in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Illinois Country French has mostly gone extinct in Illinois, although it is still celebrated in the French Colonial Historic District.

Religion

Christianity

Roman Catholics constitute the single largest religious denomination in Illinois; they are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, and account for nearly 30% of the state's population. However, taken together as a group, the various Protestant denominations comprise a greater percentage of the state's population than do Catholics. In 2010 Catholics in Illinois numbered 3,648,907. The largest Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church with 314,461, and the Southern Baptist Convention, with 283,519 members. Illinois has one of the largest concentrations of Missouri Synod Lutherans in the United States.

Illinois played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement, with Nauvoo, Illinois, becoming a gathering place for Mormons in the early 1840s. Nauvoo was the location of the succession crisis, which led to the separation of the Mormon movement into several Latter Day Saint sects. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest of the sects to emerge from the Mormon schism, has more than 55,000 adherents in Illinois today.

Other Abrahamic religious communities

A significant number of adherents of other Abrahamic faiths can be found in Illinois. Largely concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, followers of the Muslim, Baháʼí, and Jewish religions all call the state home. Muslims constituted the largest non-Christian group, with 359,264 adherents. Illinois has the largest concentration of Muslims by state in the country, with 2,800 Muslims per 100,000 citizens. The largest and oldest surviving Baháʼí House of Worship in the world is located in Wilmette, Illinois, The Chicago area has a very large Jewish community, particularly in the suburbs of Skokie, Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, and surrounding suburbs. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is the Windy City's first Jewish mayor.

Other religions

Chicago is also home to a very large population of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette is the center of that religion's worship in North America.