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

The Mexican population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 1.0 million residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Cicero, Elgin, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Mexican 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 Mexican communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Mexican population in Cook County

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  • 1
    Chicago
    Mexican population in Chicago is 584,045
    21.57% of Chicago population is Mexican
  • 2
    Cicero
    Mexican population in Cicero is 66,418
    79.81% of Cicero population is Mexican
  • 3
    Elgin
    Mexican population in Elgin is 45,690
    40.04% of Elgin population is Mexican
  • 4
    Berwyn
    Mexican population in Berwyn is 26,082
    46.67% of Berwyn population is Mexican
  • 5
    Melrose Park
    Mexican population in Melrose Park is 15,318
    62.49% of Melrose Park population is Mexican

Overview of Mexican population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data document Cook County with 1.0 million Mexican residents (20% of 5.2 million total county population), placing the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for Mexican population density, with demographic concentrations among the highest nationwide.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Cook County's Mexican population of 20% surpassing both Illinois's state average of 14.2% and the national average of 11.3%, 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 indicates Cook County hosts 1.0 million Mexican residents, constituting 57.5% of Illinois's total Mexican population of 1.8 million, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Mexican community resides within a single county—a geographic clustering pattern rarely documented in American demographic research.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Cook County maintains 1,098.6 Mexican Americans per square mile, representing more than thirty-three times Illinois's average of 32.5 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 Mexican Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Mexican populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Cicero, Elgin, and Berwyn. 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 Mexican population count
Rank by Mexican Population
City
Mexican Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County Mexican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 584,045 21.57% 56.26%
2 Cicero 66,418 79.81% 6.40%
3 Elgin 45,690 40.04% 4.40%
4 Berwyn 26,082 46.67% 2.51%
5 Melrose Park 15,318 62.49% 1.48%
6 Streamwood 12,915 33.07% 1.24%
7 Burbank 12,901 44.76% 1.24%
8 11,912 20.86% 1.15%
9 10,736 16.13% 1.03%
10 10,481 28.44% 1.01%
11 10,250 26.63% 0.99%
12 10,180 17.14% 0.98%
13 8,815 37.65% 0.85%
14 8,546 31.72% 0.82%
15 8,306 45.55% 0.80%
16 7,422 68.12% 0.72%
17 7,051 12.67% 0.68%
18 6,995 13.67% 0.67%
19 6,538 52.11% 0.63%
20 6,440 27.79% 0.62%
21 6,355 32.05% 0.61%
22 5,595 23.33% 0.54%
23 5,138 6.69% 0.50%
24 5,091 14.44% 0.49%
25 4,919 6.43% 0.47%
26 4,816 30.71% 0.46%
27 4,791 19.98% 0.46%
28 4,534 24.31% 0.44%
29 4,268 10.53% 0.41%
30 4,251 25.42% 0.41%
31 4,242 14.93% 0.41%
32 4,120 15.32% 0.40%
33 4,070 7.40% 0.39%
34 4,030 6.07% 0.39%
35 3,905 37.58% 0.38%
36 3,867 27.57% 0.37%
37 3,819 84.79% 0.37%
38 3,639 52.31% 0.35%
39 3,579 11.14% 0.34%
40 3,392 5.85% 0.33%
41 3,301 17.97% 0.32%
42 3,176 59.58% 0.31%
43 3,093 16.08% 0.30%
44 3,084 4.05% 0.30%
45 3,072 15.76% 0.30%
46 2,787 9.21% 0.27%
47 2,641 15.98% 0.25%
48 2,569 4.82% 0.25%
49 2,513 5.27% 0.24%
50 2,482 21.67% 0.24%
51 2,459 30.23% 0.24%
52 2,107 28.11% 0.20%
53 2,082 14.72% 0.20%
54 2,065 22.74% 0.20%
55 2,027 38.82% 0.20%
56 1,995 18.59% 0.19%
57 1,992 15.06% 0.19%
58 1,923 13.07% 0.19%
59 1,862 19.71% 0.18%
60 1,813 7.98% 0.17%
61 1,780 15.57% 0.17%
62 1,721 16.42% 0.17%
63 1,693 3.95% 0.16%
64 1,678 8.03% 0.16%
65 1,672 40.34% 0.16%
66 1,615 10.09% 0.16%
67 1,594 7.58% 0.15%
68 1,491 8.45% 0.14%
69 1,486 50.17% 0.14%
70 1,383 13.02% 0.13%
71 1,372 11.09% 0.13%
72 1,310 7.22% 0.13%
73 1,240 15.70% 0.12%
74 1,236 6.35% 0.12%
75 1,139 3.29% 0.11%
76 1,076 7.09% 0.10%
77 1,073 27.28% 0.10%
78 1,065 10.95% 0.10%
79 1,048 26.34% 0.10%
80 1,020 24.03% 0.10%
81 1,003 15.94% 0.10%
82 988 4.00% 0.10%
83 926 10.46% 0.09%
84 871 49.32% 0.08%
85 866 2.21% 0.08%
86 838 12.40% 0.08%
87 783 8.65% 0.08%
88 772 5.51% 0.07%
89 730 5.41% 0.07%
90 694 6.60% 0.07%
91 672 11.45% 0.06%
92 587 4.97% 0.06%
93 554 3.23% 0.05%
94 539 25.14% 0.05%
95 494 3.75% 0.05%
96 443 1.61% 0.04%
97 417 3.12% 0.04%
98 415 2.53% 0.04%
99 414 8.35% 0.04%
100 408 4.73% 0.04%
101 361 19.24% 0.03%
102 342 8.57% 0.03%
103 323 4.73% 0.03%
104 317 1.70% 0.03%
105 260 25.44% 0.03%
106 252 19.63% 0.02%
107 245 1.17% 0.02%
108 235 39.56% 0.02%
109 232 2.40% 0.02%
110 215 1.87% 0.02%
111 208 1.87% 0.02%
112 165 14.71% 0.02%
113 137 1.09% 0.01%
114 130 2.69% 0.01%
115 109 0.99% 0.01%
116 105 0.84% 0.01%
117 45 0.52% 0.00%
117 45 0.60% 0.00%
118 35 1.38% 0.00%
119 34 0.60% 0.00%
120 25 4.56% 0.00%
121 10 0.25% 0.00%
122 4 0.08% 0.00%
123 3 0.06% 0.00%
124 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 Mexican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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