2025

Counties in Illinois ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 102 counties in Illinois based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Black population in Illinois

View All
  • 1
    Cook County
    Black population in Cook County is 1,253,007
    21.62% of Cook County population is Black
  • 2
    Will County
    Black population in Will County is 94,141
    12.20% of Will County population is Black
  • 3
    St. Clair County
    Black population in St. Clair County is 79,283
    28.89% of St. Clair County population is Black
  • 4
    Lake County
    Black population in Lake County is 58,785
    7.36% of Lake County population is Black
  • 5
    DuPage County
    Black population in DuPage County is 57,200
    5.62% of DuPage County population is Black

List of 102 counties in Illinois by Black Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Black Population
County
Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Illinois Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cook County 1,253,007 21.62% 63.87%
2 Will County 94,141 12.20% 4.80%
3 St. Clair County 79,283 28.89% 4.04%
4 Lake County 58,785 7.36% 3.00%
5 DuPage County 57,200 5.62% 2.92%
6 Winnebago County 45,727 14.70% 2.33%
7 Peoria County 38,130 19.75% 1.94%
8 34,052 5.72% 1.74%
9 31,912 14.35% 1.63%
10 29,737 14.43% 1.52%
11 28,281 10.12% 1.44%
12 21,162 19.50% 1.08%
13 20,018 12.88% 1.02%
14 17,284 15.19% 0.88%
15 17,261 9.55% 0.88%
16 12,728 8.28% 0.65%
17 11,499 15.05% 0.59%
18 10,081 9.20% 0.51%
19 8,881 15.95% 0.45%
20 8,066 2.35% 0.41%
21 5,691 12.03% 0.29%
22 5,078 9.71% 0.26%
23 3,747 3.25% 0.19%
24 3,723 5.47% 0.19%
25 3,474 4.93% 0.18%
26 3,027 7.69% 0.15%
27 2,878 2.14% 0.15%
28 2,732 8.80% 0.14%
29 2,577 7.52% 0.13%
30 2,511 5.18% 0.13%
31 2,231 6.14% 0.11%
32 2,153 5.58% 0.11%
33 2,118 7.24% 0.11%
34 2,058 3.51% 0.10%
35 1,972 9.14% 0.10%
36 1,820 3.03% 0.09%
37 1,762 6.25% 0.09%
38 1,737 33.14% 0.09%
39 1,735 32.69% 0.09%
40 1,656 4.47% 0.08%
41 1,590 2.81% 0.08%
42 1,532 2.94% 0.08%
43 1,490 3.86% 0.08%
44 1,225 7.17% 0.06%
45 1,193 8.17% 0.06%
46 1,167 3.37% 0.06%
47 1,154 17.67% 0.06%
48 1,148 7.13% 0.06%
49 1,116 2.01% 0.06%
50 1,051 7.16% 0.05%
51 1,031 3.00% 0.05%
52 959 4.23% 0.05%
53 932 3.84% 0.05%
54 844 2.92% 0.04%
55 782 1.70% 0.04%
56 758 4.67% 0.04%
57 731 3.78% 0.04%
58 640 1.61% 0.03%
59 628 3.65% 0.03%
60 588 4.24% 0.03%
61 580 2.06% 0.03%
62 551 1.41% 0.03%
63 523 1.50% 0.03%
64 437 2.38% 0.02%
65 422 1.20% 0.02%
66 367 1.61% 0.02%
67 358 2.09% 0.02%
68 352 1.69% 0.02%
69 348 2.48% 0.02%
70 346 4.97% 0.02%
71 326 0.91% 0.02%
72 312 1.94% 0.02%
73 306 2.84% 0.02%
74 301 1.68% 0.02%
75 279 2.11% 0.01%
76 248 1.68% 0.01%
77 238 1.75% 0.01%
78 237 1.87% 0.01%
79 235 6.05% 0.01%
80 224 1.32% 0.01%
81 222 1.82% 0.01%
82 220 1.56% 0.01%
83 218 1.88% 0.01%
84 217 1.34% 0.01%
85 188 1.15% 0.01%
86 141 1.01% 0.01%
87 131 0.59% 0.01%
88 130 1.07% 0.01%
89 125 0.79% 0.01%
90 120 0.81% 0.01%
91 103 1.86% 0.01%
92 89 1.95% -
93 88 0.54% -
94 86 1.75% -
95 85 1.33% -
96 73 0.34% -
97 52 1.41% -
98 38 0.59% -
99 33 0.66% -
100 31 0.33% -
101 28 0.48% -
102 4 0.05% -

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 counties in Illinois by their Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Black Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Black, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Black alone, while others identify as Black along with another race (such as Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Black .
  • We’ve used the “Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Black alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total Illinois Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Black 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 Black 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.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Black 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 Black 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.