2025

Counties in Illinois ranked by Non-Hispanic Black Population

This list ranks the 102 counties in Illinois based on their Non-Hispanic 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 13, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Non-Hispanic Black population in Illinois

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  • 1
    Cook County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Cook County is 1,148,288
    19.82% of Cook County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 2
    Will County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Will County is 80,482
    10.43% of Will County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 3
    St. Clair County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in St. Clair County is 70,841
    25.81% of St. Clair County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 4
    Lake County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Lake County is 45,108
    5.65% of Lake County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 5
    DuPage County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in DuPage County is 45,002
    4.42% of DuPage County population is Non-Hispanic Black

List of 102 counties in Illinois by Non-Hispanic Black Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Non-Hispanic Black Population
County
Non-Hispanic Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Illinois Non-Hispanic Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cook County 1,148,288 19.82% 66.77%
2 Will County 80,482 10.43% 4.68%
3 St. Clair County 70,841 25.81% 4.12%
4 Lake County 45,108 5.65% 2.62%
5 DuPage County 45,002 4.42% 2.62%
6 Winnebago County 36,633 11.78% 2.13%
7 Peoria County 31,409 16.27% 1.83%
8 27,001 12.14% 1.57%
9 25,051 4.21% 1.46%
10 24,341 11.82% 1.42%
11 22,617 8.09% 1.32%
12 17,460 16.09% 1.02%
13 15,571 13.69% 0.91%
14 14,883 9.57% 0.87%
15 14,159 7.83% 0.82%
16 11,111 7.23% 0.65%
17 10,794 14.13% 0.63%
18 7,691 7.02% 0.45%
19 7,557 13.57% 0.44%
20 4,512 1.32% 0.26%
21 3,810 7.28% 0.22%
22 3,714 7.85% 0.22%
23 2,880 2.50% 0.17%
24 2,373 7.65% 0.14%
25 2,316 3.29% 0.13%
26 2,310 3.39% 0.13%
27 2,274 5.78% 0.13%
28 1,824 5.02% 0.11%
29 1,813 1.35% 0.11%
30 1,746 3.60% 0.10%
31 1,724 5.03% 0.10%
32 1,661 7.70% 0.10%
33 1,652 5.65% 0.10%
34 1,637 30.84% 0.10%
35 1,606 30.64% 0.09%
36 1,552 5.51% 0.09%
37 1,551 4.02% 0.09%
38 1,241 3.35% 0.07%
39 1,147 2.97% 0.07%
40 1,123 1.98% 0.07%
41 1,121 6.56% 0.07%
42 1,082 16.57% 0.06%
43 1,020 6.34% 0.06%
44 1,006 6.89% 0.06%
45 1,001 1.92% 0.06%
46 989 1.69% 0.06%
47 876 2.53% 0.05%
48 860 5.86% 0.05%
49 819 2.39% 0.05%
50 805 3.55% 0.05%
51 756 2.62% 0.04%
52 656 3.39% 0.04%
53 654 2.70% 0.04%
54 627 1.13% 0.04%
55 584 3.60% 0.03%
56 564 0.94% 0.03%
57 534 1.16% 0.03%
58 478 3.45% 0.03%
59 462 2.68% 0.03%
60 303 4.35% 0.02%
61 250 1.46% 0.01%
62 242 0.61% 0.01%
63 240 1.15% 0.01%
64 226 0.64% 0.01%
65 212 0.61% 0.01%
66 208 0.58% 0.01%
67 189 4.86% 0.01%
68 182 0.65% 0.01%
69 181 0.79% 0.01%
70 153 1.04% 0.01%
71 152 0.39% 0.01%
72 149 0.93% 0.01%
73 132 0.72% 0.01%
73 132 0.74% 0.01%
74 124 0.56% 0.01%
75 108 0.93% 0.01%
76 106 0.67% 0.01%
77 93 0.68% 0.01%
78 90 0.64% 0.01%
79 88 0.54% 0.01%
80 86 0.61% 0.01%
81 84 0.49% -
82 81 0.67% -
83 74 0.50% -
84 71 0.54% -
85 66 0.47% -
86 56 0.44% -
87 55 0.99% -
88 51 1.04% -
89 49 0.40% -
90 46 0.28% -
91 45 0.98% -
92 43 1.16% -
93 35 0.21% -
94 33 0.66% -
95 24 0.11% -
96 16 0.25% -
97 15 0.14% -
98 13 0.22% -
99 11 0.17% -
100 10 0.11% -
101 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 Non-Hispanic Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic Black alone, while others identify as Non-Hispanic Black along with another race (such as Non-Hispanic Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black .
  • We’ve used the “Non-Hispanic Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Non-Hispanic Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic Black .
  2. % of Total Illinois Non-Hispanic Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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.