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

The Polish population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 371,589 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Arlington Heights, Orland Park, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Polish 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 Polish communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Polish population in Cook County

View All
  • 1
    Chicago
    Polish population in Chicago is 135,310
    5.00% of Chicago population is Polish
  • 2
    Arlington Heights
    Polish population in Arlington Heights is 10,527
    13.81% of Arlington Heights population is Polish
  • 3
    Orland Park
    Polish population in Orland Park is 9,187
    15.85% of Orland Park population is Polish
  • 4
    Schaumburg
    Polish population in Schaumburg is 8,905
    11.60% of Schaumburg population is Polish
  • 5
    Oak Lawn
    Polish population in Oak Lawn is 8,874
    15.54% of Oak Lawn population is Polish

Overview of Polish population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Cook County contains 371,589 Polish residents (7.2% of 5.2 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 100th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for Polish demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Cook County's Polish population of 7.2% surpassing both Illinois's state average of 6.2% and the national average of 2.6%, 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 371,589 Polish residents, representing 47.1% of Illinois's total Polish population of 789,582, containing 47.1% of the state's Polish demographic community within a single jurisdiction.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Cook County maintains 393.2 Polish Americans per square mile, representing more than twenty-seven times Illinois's average of 14.2 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
  • Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔

125 Cities in Cook County Ranked by Polish Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Polish populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Arlington Heights, Orland Park, and Schaumburg. 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 Polish population count
Rank by Polish Population
City
Polish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County Polish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 135,310 5.00% 36.41%
2 Arlington Heights 10,527 13.81% 2.83%
3 Orland Park 9,187 15.85% 2.47%
4 Schaumburg 8,905 11.60% 2.40%
5 Oak Lawn 8,874 15.54% 2.39%
6 Tinley Park 8,339 15.16% 2.24%
7 Des Plaines 8,311 13.99% 2.24%
8 7,908 14.21% 2.13%
9 7,006 17.85% 1.89%
10 6,662 10.01% 1.79%
11 6,515 16.07% 1.75%
12 5,712 31.49% 1.54%
13 5,472 24.07% 1.47%
14 5,413 16.85% 1.46%
15 5,318 4.66% 1.43%
16 5,110 9.98% 1.38%
17 4,977 17.27% 1.34%
18 4,668 15.43% 1.26%
19 4,647 6.07% 1.25%
20 4,488 25.44% 1.21%
21 4,327 18.04% 1.16%
22 4,302 9.02% 1.16%
23 4,043 26.64% 1.09%
24 3,532 13.14% 0.95%
25 3,329 6.24% 0.90%
26 3,220 9.30% 0.87%
27 3,203 7.48% 0.86%
28 3,139 5.62% 0.84%
29 3,055 7.82% 0.82%
30 2,830 16.92% 0.76%
31 2,825 19.19% 0.76%
32 2,677 13.92% 0.72%
33 2,676 21.63% 0.72%
34 2,646 14.51% 0.71%
35 2,566 10.70% 0.69%
36 2,459 6.39% 0.66%
37 2,436 3.67% 0.66%
38 2,407 9.75% 0.65%
39 2,228 14.21% 0.60%
40 2,182 5.92% 0.59%
41 2,153 24.32% 0.58%
42 2,005 12.53% 0.54%
43 1,890 6.86% 0.51%
44 1,794 17.26% 0.48%
45 1,784 12.61% 0.48%
46 1,767 10.69% 0.48%
47 1,745 13.07% 0.47%
48 1,701 9.12% 0.46%
49 1,679 14.21% 0.45%
50 1,677 16.00% 0.45%
51 1,648 14.39% 0.44%
52 1,591 14.83% 0.43%
53 1,499 7.69% 0.40%
54 1,455 5.12% 0.39%
55 1,433 8.35% 0.39%
56 1,421 1.71% 0.38%
57 1,354 10.24% 0.36%
58 1,334 12.56% 0.36%
59 1,307 22.26% 0.35%
60 1,277 11.48% 0.34%
61 1,255 8.95% 0.34%
62 1,078 17.13% 0.29%
63 1,043 3.87% 0.28%
64 973 8.81% 0.26%
65 971 13.96% 0.26%
66 954 4.90% 0.26%
67 927 7.39% 0.25%
68 914 10.07% 0.25%
69 913 7.95% 0.25%
70 833 6.66% 0.22%
71 819 10.86% 0.22%
72 710 5.07% 0.19%
73 706 10.45% 0.19%
74 704 2.00% 0.19%
75 646 16.47% 0.17%
76 637 7.31% 0.17%
77 621 12.85% 0.17%
78 604 8.06% 0.16%
79 542 2.31% 0.15%
80 538 13.48% 0.14%
81 503 8.85% 0.14%
82 499 11.76% 0.13%
83 484 5.12% 0.13%
84 469 3.56% 0.13%
85 447 8.93% 0.12%
86 412 19.22% 0.11%
87 408 1.66% 0.11%
88 358 1.70% 0.10%
89 329 1.57% 0.09%
90 306 3.38% 0.08%
90 306 2.81% 0.08%
91 295 3.03% 0.08%
92 278 27.20% 0.07%
93 271 2.80% 0.07%
94 268 3.30% 0.07%
95 244 4.67% 0.07%
95 244 2.83% 0.07%
96 231 13.08% 0.06%
97 197 0.85% 0.05%
98 164 2.08% 0.04%
98 164 3.96% 0.04%
99 162 3.04% 0.04%
100 152 0.72% 0.04%
100 152 8.10% 0.04%
101 147 3.70% 0.04%
102 146 0.78% 0.04%
103 131 0.80% 0.04%
104 114 1.00% 0.03%
105 112 4.40% 0.03%
106 105 0.53% 0.03%
107 103 1.51% 0.03%
108 101 17.00% 0.03%
109 100 0.54% 0.03%
110 99 2.52% 0.03%
111 88 0.65% 0.02%
112 76 0.60% 0.02%
113 63 1.36% 0.02%
114 33 6.02% 0.01%
115 31 2.76% 0.01%
116 17 0.34% 0.00%
117 11 0.10% 0.00%
117 11 0.24% 0.00%
118 9 0.30% 0.00%
119 0 - -
119 0 - -
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 city in Cook County, IL by their Polish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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