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

The Indian population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 129,703 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Indian 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 Indian communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Indian population in Cook County

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  • 1
    Chicago
    Indian population in Chicago is 48,894
    1.81% of Chicago population is Indian
  • 2
    Schaumburg
    Indian population in Schaumburg is 10,051
    13.09% of Schaumburg population is Indian
  • 3
    Buffalo Grove
    Indian population in Buffalo Grove is 7,214
    16.85% of Buffalo Grove population is Indian
  • 4
    Hoffman Estates
    Indian population in Hoffman Estates is 5,849
    11.43% of Hoffman Estates population is Indian
  • 5
    Skokie
    Indian population in Skokie is 4,801
    7.23% of Skokie population is Indian

Overview of Indian population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Cook County contains 129,703 Indian residents (2.5% of 5.2 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for Indian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Cook County's Indian population of 2.5% surpassing both Illinois's state average of 2.1% and the national average of 1.5%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data shows Cook County contains 129,703 Indian residents, representing 47.9% of Illinois's total Indian population of 270,892, containing 47.9% of the state's Indian demographic community within a single jurisdiction.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Cook County maintains 137.3 Indian Americans per square mile, representing just over twenty-eight times Illinois's average of 4.9 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 Indian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Indian populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, and Hoffman Estates. 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 Indian population count
Rank by Indian Population
City
Indian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County Indian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 48,894 1.81% 37.70%
2 Schaumburg 10,051 13.09% 7.75%
3 Buffalo Grove 7,214 16.85% 5.56%
4 Hoffman Estates 5,849 11.43% 4.51%
5 Skokie 4,801 7.23% 3.70%
6 Des Plaines 4,421 7.44% 3.41%
7 Palatine 4,050 6.09% 3.12%
8 3,874 10.51% 2.99%
9 3,387 4.44% 2.61%
10 3,290 8.12% 2.54%
11 3,043 5.47% 2.35%
12 2,952 11.96% 2.28%
13 2,564 6.66% 1.98%
14 2,490 6.38% 1.92%
15 2,324 4.87% 1.79%
16 1,836 36.69% 1.42%
17 1,726 5.70% 1.33%
18 1,724 2.25% 1.33%
19 1,711 1.50% 1.32%
20 1,571 4.54% 1.21%
21 1,492 4.64% 1.15%
22 1,383 2.39% 1.07%
23 1,261 5.26% 0.97%
24 1,249 9.48% 0.96%
25 1,125 10.12% 0.87%
26 987 1.85% 0.76%
27 950 4.18% 0.73%
28 941 3.50% 0.73%
29 933 2.38% 0.72%
30 901 5.25% 0.69%
31 827 5.27% 0.64%
32 731 2.65% 0.56%
33 714 9.47% 0.55%
34 688 1.25% 0.53%
35 472 3.21% 0.36%
36 457 4.14% 0.35%
37 450 2.27% 0.35%
38 345 2.46% 0.27%
39 292 1.01% 0.23%
40 217 1.11% 0.17%
40 217 1.63% 0.17%
41 214 0.37% 0.17%
42 208 1.81% 0.16%
43 196 1.40% 0.15%
44 174 3.06% 0.13%
45 164 1.31% 0.13%
46 156 1.72% 0.12%
47 135 0.73% 0.10%
48 133 1.22% 0.10%
49 128 0.80% 0.10%
50 124 0.52% 0.10%
51 99 0.59% 0.08%
52 97 2.47% 0.07%
53 90 0.38% 0.07%
54 89 1.09% 0.07%
55 88 1.01% 0.07%
56 86 0.80% 0.07%
57 84 0.51% 0.06%
58 82 0.46% 0.06%
59 80 0.53% 0.06%
59 80 0.70% 0.06%
60 75 0.57% 0.06%
61 64 0.72% 0.05%
61 64 0.28% 0.05%
62 61 0.11% 0.05%
63 58 0.07% 0.04%
64 53 0.19% 0.04%
65 49 0.26% 0.04%
66 47 0.75% 0.04%
67 46 0.68% 0.04%
67 46 0.22% 0.04%
68 45 0.86% 0.03%
69 42 0.23% 0.03%
70 39 0.66% 0.03%
71 36 1.42% 0.03%
72 35 0.21% 0.03%
73 34 0.30% 0.03%
74 31 0.32% 0.02%
75 29 0.34% 0.02%
76 27 0.26% 0.02%
77 25 0.63% 0.02%
78 24 0.19% 0.02%
78 24 0.50% 0.02%
79 23 0.11% 0.02%
80 18 0.10% 0.01%
80 18 0.10% 0.01%
81 16 0.06% 0.01%
82 15 0.14% 0.01%
83 13 0.07% 0.01%
84 11 0.27% 0.01%
85 8 0.16% 0.01%
86 7 1.28% 0.01%
87 6 0.02% 0.00%
87 6 0.02% 0.00%
88 2 0.05% 0.00%
89 1 0.05% 0.00%
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 0 - -
90 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 Indian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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