English Population in Illinois by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the English population in Illinois totals 840,615. Every county in the state reports a non-zero population, with Cook County leading at 180,851, followed by DuPage County (57,597) and Lake County (42,925). This demographic analysis ranks all counties in Illinois by their English population, offering insights into regional distribution patterns and highlighting county-level concentrations across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest English population in Illinois

View All
  • 1
    Cook County
    English population in Cook County is 180,851
    3.49% of Cook County population is English
  • 2
    DuPage County
    English population in DuPage County is 57,597
    6.21% of DuPage County population is English
  • 3
    Lake County
    English population in Lake County is 42,925
    6.03% of Lake County population is English
  • 4
    Will County
    English population in Will County is 38,613
    5.53% of Will County population is English
  • 5
    Kane County
    English population in Kane County is 33,930
    6.57% of Kane County population is English

Overview of English population in Illinois

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Illinois with 840,615 English residents (6.6% of 12.7 million total state population), ranking the state at the 72nd percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for English demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census surveys show Illinois's English demographic representation of 6.6% remains below the national average of 9.1%, positioning the state below typical U.S. demographic distribution patterns.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Illinois hosts 840,615 English residents, representing 2.8% of the nation's total English population of 30.1 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data show Illinois maintains 15.1 English Americans per square mile compared to the national average of 8.5, indicating higher demographic concentration relative to national averages.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

102 Counties in Illinois Ranked by English Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show English populations across every county in Illinois, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Cook County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. 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*.
counties in Illinois ranked by English population count
Rank by English Population
County
English Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Illinois English Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cook County 180,851 3.49% 21.51%
2 DuPage County 57,597 6.21% 6.85%
3 Lake County 42,925 6.03% 5.11%
4 Will County 38,613 5.53% 4.59%
5 Kane County 33,930 6.57% 4.04%
6 Madison County 31,669 11.97% 3.77%
7 McHenry County 25,279 8.12% 3.01%
8 24,789 8.75% 2.95%
9 23,540 12.06% 2.80%
10 21,182 8.31% 2.52%
11 20,791 12.17% 2.47%
12 19,605 9.51% 2.33%
13 18,930 10.53% 2.25%
14 17,752 13.60% 2.11%
15 12,410 8.68% 1.48%
16 12,392 12.08% 1.47%
17 10,124 9.28% 1.20%
18 9,358 13.99% 1.11%
19 8,942 8.90% 1.06%
20 8,875 6.57% 1.06%
21 7,737 7.24% 0.92%
22 6,800 9.29% 0.81%
23 6,568 10.08% 0.78%
24 6,303 11.96% 0.75%
25 6,075 13.63% 0.72%
26 5,690 11.54% 0.68%
27 5,559 10.79% 0.66%
28 5,418 14.43% 0.64%
29 5,339 9.67% 0.64%
30 5,307 10.03% 0.63%
31 5,093 10.91% 0.61%
32 5,091 15.31% 0.61%
33 5,062 13.75% 0.60%
34 4,965 15.22% 0.59%
35 4,832 9.87% 0.57%
36 4,632 12.08% 0.55%
37 4,517 12.11% 0.54%
38 4,471 13.27% 0.53%
39 4,053 9.20% 0.48%
40 3,961 7.43% 0.47%
41 3,910 11.84% 0.47%
42 3,803 11.17% 0.45%
43 3,667 10.49% 0.44%
44 3,471 9.73% 0.41%
45 3,294 12.15% 0.39%
46 3,192 11.45% 0.38%
47 2,935 8.51% 0.35%
48 2,702 16.18% 0.32%
49 2,700 12.65% 0.32%
50 2,664 9.49% 0.32%
51 2,603 11.13% 0.31%
52 2,587 14.84% 0.31%
53 2,577 15.49% 0.31%
54 2,557 8.48% 0.30%
55 2,536 13.64% 0.30%
56 2,533 11.85% 0.30%
57 2,504 9.36% 0.30%
58 2,501 11.99% 0.30%
59 2,432 15.21% 0.29%
60 2,409 6.53% 0.29%
61 2,270 10.36% 0.27%
62 2,185 11.10% 0.26%
63 2,144 13.87% 0.26%
64 2,135 13.93% 0.25%
65 2,060 9.90% 0.25%
66 2,000 13.82% 0.24%
67 1,953 15.17% 0.23%
68 1,925 13.79% 0.23%
69 1,865 10.99% 0.22%
70 1,825 10.98% 0.22%
71 1,800 13.13% 0.21%
72 1,780 14.63% 0.21%
73 1,723 11.03% 0.21%
74 1,721 12.85% 0.20%
75 1,635 11.18% 0.19%
76 1,541 9.83% 0.18%
77 1,538 10.16% 0.18%
78 1,534 13.70% 0.18%
79 1,485 12.68% 0.18%
80 1,402 11.84% 0.17%
81 1,376 13.26% 0.16%
82 1,369 22.38% 0.16%
83 1,363 8.73% 0.16%
84 1,357 8.19% 0.16%
85 1,241 9.07% 0.15%
86 1,239 9.28% 0.15%
87 1,197 17.54% 0.14%
88 1,165 9.08% 0.14%
89 1,132 8.59% 0.13%
90 1,068 13.40% 0.13%
91 843 15.83% 0.10%
92 820 8.88% 0.10%
93 787 21.72% 0.09%
94 702 14.45% 0.08%
95 622 9.90% 0.07%
96 620 11.07% 0.07%
97 616 12.71% 0.07%
98 502 7.94% 0.06%
99 413 9.37% 0.05%
100 389 10.35% 0.05%
101 337 6.68% 0.04%
102 332 6.54% 0.04%
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 county in Illinois 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 county. 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 English .
  2. % of Total Illinois 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.
  • County 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.