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

The English population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 180,851 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Evanston, Arlington Heights, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed English 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 English communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest English population in Cook County

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  • 1
    Chicago
    English population in Chicago is 86,529
    3.20% of Chicago population is English
  • 2
    Evanston
    English population in Evanston is 7,319
    9.56% of Evanston population is English
  • 3
    Arlington Heights
    English population in Arlington Heights is 5,517
    7.24% of Arlington Heights population is English
  • 4
    Elgin
    English population in Elgin is 4,913
    4.31% of Elgin population is English
  • 5
    Oak Park
    English population in Oak Park is 4,496
    8.43% of Oak Park population is English

Overview of English population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Cook County contains 180,851 English residents (3.5% of 5.2 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for English demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Cook County's English population of 3.5% remains below Illinois's state average of 6.6% and the national average of 9.1%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Cook County's 180,851 English residents constitute 21.5% of Illinois's total English population of 840,615, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 21.5% of all Illinois English Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Cook County maintains 191.4 English Americans per square mile, representing more than twelve times Illinois's average of 15.1 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 English Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show English populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Evanston, Arlington Heights, and Elgin. 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 English population count
Rank by English Population
City
English Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County English Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 86,529 3.20% 47.85%
2 Evanston 7,319 9.56% 4.05%
3 Arlington Heights 5,517 7.24% 3.05%
4 Elgin 4,913 4.31% 2.72%
5 Oak Park 4,496 8.43% 2.49%
6 Palatine 3,207 4.82% 1.77%
7 Wilmette 3,111 11.29% 1.72%
8 2,815 5.90% 1.56%
9 2,689 3.50% 1.49%
10 2,432 6.20% 1.34%
11 2,420 4.35% 1.34%
12 2,187 17.48% 1.21%
13 2,108 3.64% 1.17%
14 2,104 3.83% 1.16%
15 2,016 4.97% 1.11%
16 2,004 3.37% 1.11%
17 1,908 3.73% 1.06%
18 1,873 11.71% 1.04%
19 1,790 2.69% 0.99%
20 1,596 9.30% 0.88%
21 1,592 3.72% 0.88%
22 1,569 14.20% 0.87%
23 1,427 4.12% 0.79%
24 1,421 2.49% 0.79%
25 1,322 3.39% 0.73%
26 1,251 6.42% 0.69%
27 1,240 6.45% 0.69%
28 1,236 9.26% 0.68%
29 1,221 3.80% 0.68%
30 1,070 7.64% 0.59%
31 1,047 4.61% 0.58%
32 1,042 1.86% 0.58%
33 998 7.55% 0.55%
34 963 3.58% 0.53%
35 956 3.36% 0.53%
36 947 16.66% 0.52%
37 936 3.79% 0.52%
38 932 8.11% 0.52%
39 857 3.57% 0.47%
40 832 2.16% 0.46%
41 815 4.62% 0.45%
42 773 3.96% 0.43%
43 759 4.18% 0.42%
44 662 7.60% 0.37%
45 657 2.17% 0.36%
46 637 1.73% 0.35%
47 630 5.33% 0.35%
48 627 2.18% 0.35%
49 623 3.77% 0.34%
50 587 2.51% 0.32%
51 577 5.55% 0.32%
52 576 4.11% 0.32%
53 570 5.13% 0.32%
54 530 7.03% 0.29%
55 520 20.45% 0.29%
56 512 2.75% 0.28%
57 501 2.40% 0.28%
58 494 3.15% 0.27%
59 486 10.06% 0.27%
60 466 5.13% 0.26%
61 451 1.88% 0.25%
62 446 4.72% 0.25%
63 427 4.02% 0.24%
64 391 6.21% 0.22%
65 381 9.54% 0.21%
66 375 3.27% 0.21%
67 370 0.44% 0.20%
68 368 8.67% 0.20%
69 352 1.93% 0.19%
70 341 1.27% 0.19%
70 341 3.53% 0.19%
71 308 2.09% 0.17%
72 305 2.47% 0.17%
73 297 2.77% 0.16%
74 295 7.52% 0.16%
75 292 1.75% 0.16%
76 258 1.96% 0.14%
76 258 4.39% 0.14%
77 250 1.99% 0.14%
78 229 1.39% 0.13%
79 207 2.13% 0.11%
80 204 0.83% 0.11%
80 204 1.34% 0.11%
81 201 2.68% 0.11%
82 195 3.90% 0.11%
83 190 1.34% 0.11%
83 190 2.81% 0.11%
84 182 6.14% 0.10%
85 178 0.85% 0.10%
86 163 0.46% 0.09%
87 156 3.37% 0.09%
88 118 0.63% 0.07%
89 116 1.01% 0.06%
89 116 0.50% 0.06%
90 115 1.27% 0.06%
91 114 0.54% 0.06%
92 97 0.77% 0.05%
93 90 2.29% 0.05%
94 89 4.15% 0.05%
95 83 0.96% 0.05%
96 77 0.73% 0.04%
97 73 13.32% 0.04%
98 72 0.53% 0.04%
99 71 1.33% 0.04%
100 69 1.73% 0.04%
101 68 3.62% 0.04%
102 58 0.66% 0.03%
103 54 0.66% 0.03%
104 50 1.21% 0.03%
105 45 0.86% 0.02%
106 38 2.15% 0.02%
107 34 3.03% 0.02%
107 34 0.31% 0.02%
108 28 0.40% 0.02%
109 25 0.14% 0.01%
110 22 0.49% 0.01%
111 21 3.54% 0.01%
112 17 1.66% 0.01%
113 16 0.20% 0.01%
114 10 0.05% 0.01%
115 9 0.57% 0.01%
116 4 0.04% 0.00%
117 3 0.06% 0.00%
118 0 - -
118 0 - -
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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 English population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines English 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 English 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 English alone, while others identify as English along with another race (such as English and German).
  • We’ve used the “English alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the English population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as English 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 English .
  2. % of Total Cook County English Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. English 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 English 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 English 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 English populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

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