Costa Rican Population in Illinois by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights
According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Costa Rican population in Illinois totals 2,980. Cook County contains the largest Costa Rican community with 1,520 residents, followed by DuPage County (245), Kane County (227), and others contributing to this statewide total. This demographic analysis ranks all counties in Illinois by their Costa Rican populations, offering insights into local community distribution and broader settlement trends.
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Top 5 counties with the largest Costa Rican population in Illinois
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1Cook CountyCosta Rican population in Cook County is 1,5200.03% of Cook County population is Costa Rican
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2DuPage CountyCosta Rican population in DuPage County is 2450.03% of DuPage County population is Costa Rican
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3Kane CountyCosta Rican population in Kane County is 2270.04% of Kane County population is Costa Rican
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4Champaign CountyCosta Rican population in Champaign County is 2030.10% of Champaign County population is Costa Rican
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5Will CountyCosta Rican population in Will County is 1720.02% of Will County population is Costa Rican
Overview of Costa Rican population in Illinois
- Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data indicate Illinois contains 2,980 Costa Rican residents (0.023% of 12.7 million total state population), positioning the state at the 75th percentile nationally among U.S. states for Costa Rican population concentrations.
- Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census surveys show Illinois's Costa Rican demographic representation of 0.023% remains below the national average of 0.055%, positioning the state below typical U.S. demographic distribution patterns.
- Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey document Illinois's 2,980 Costa Rican residents constitute 1.6% of the nation's total Costa Rican population of 181,635, providing the state with a measurable but modest share of the national demographic community.
- Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Illinois's density of 0.054 Costa Rican Americans per square mile corresponds to the national average, aligning the state with national demographic distribution patterns.
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102 Counties in Illinois Ranked by Costa Rican Population
American Community Survey data [1] show Costa Rican population in Illinois distributed across multiple counties, led by Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Champaign County, while several other counties recorded no residents identified as Americans of at least partial Costa Rican descent. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
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 county in Illinois 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 county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
- % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Costa Rican .
- % of Total Illinois 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.
- County 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
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2023.
