Costa Rican Population in Cook County, IL by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Costa Rican population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 1,520 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Elgin, Hanover Park, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Costa Rican presence. However, the combined population across these cities exceeds the official county total - a likely result of rounding differences or sampling variations in small-population census data. The analysis below explores how Costa Rican communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Costa Rican population in Cook County

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  • 1
    Chicago
    Costa Rican population in Chicago is 988
    0.04% of Chicago population is Costa Rican
  • 2
    Elgin
    Costa Rican population in Elgin is 162
    0.14% of Elgin population is Costa Rican
  • 3
    Hanover Park
    Costa Rican population in Hanover Park is 128
    0.35% of Hanover Park population is Costa Rican
  • 4
    Franklin Park
    Costa Rican population in Franklin Park is 113
    0.62% of Franklin Park population is Costa Rican
  • 5
    Oak Lawn
    Costa Rican population in Oak Lawn is 71
    0.12% of Oak Lawn population is Costa Rican

Overview of Costa Rican population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Cook County with 1,520 Costa Rican residents (0.029% of 5.2 million total county population), positioning the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for Costa Rican population concentrations, despite absolute population figures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS indicate Cook County's Costa Rican population of 0.029% exceeds Illinois's state average of 0.023% while remaining below the national average of 0.055%, placing the county above regional demographic benchmarks while below national concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Cook County hosts 1,520 Costa Rican residents, constituting 51% of Illinois's total Costa Rican population of 2,980, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Costa Rican community resides within a single county—a geographic clustering pattern rarely documented in American demographic research.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Cook County maintains 1.6 Costa Rican Americans per square mile, representing nearly thirty times Illinois's average of 0.054 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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125 Cities in Cook County Ranked by Costa Rican Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Costa Rican populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Elgin, Hanover Park, and Franklin Park. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 125 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Cook County, IL ranked by Costa Rican population count
Rank by Costa Rican Population
City
Costa Rican Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County Costa Rican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 988 0.04% 65.00%
2 Elgin 162 0.14% 10.66%
3 Hanover Park 128 0.35% 8.42%
4 Franklin Park 113 0.62% 7.43%
5 Oak Lawn 71 0.12% 4.67%
6 Justice 56 0.45% 3.68%
7 Evanston 55 0.07% 3.62%
8 35 0.05% 2.30%
9 34 0.06% 2.24%
9 34 0.16% 2.24%
10 29 0.07% 1.91%
11 16 0.10% 1.05%
12 15 0.59% 0.99%
12 15 0.05% 0.99%
13 13 0.03% 0.86%
14 12 0.03% 0.79%
15 11 0.06% 0.72%
15 11 0.02% 0.72%
16 5 0.03% 0.33%
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Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Cook County, IL by their Costa Rican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Costa Rican population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Costa Rican ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Costa Rican alone, while others identify as Costa Rican along with another race (such as Costa Rican and German).
  • We’ve used the “Costa Rican alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Costa Rican population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Costa Rican alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Costa Rican .
  2. % of Total Cook County Costa Rican Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Costa Rican population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Costa Rican populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Costa Rican population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Costa Rican populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.