Polish Population in Illinois by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the Polish population in Illinois totals 789,582. Every county in the state reports a non-zero population, with Cook County leading at 371,589, followed by DuPage County (92,674) and Will County (77,317). This demographic analysis ranks all counties in Illinois by their Polish population, offering insights into regional distribution patterns and highlighting county-level concentrations across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest Polish population in Illinois

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  • 1
    Cook County
    Polish population in Cook County is 371,589
    7.17% of Cook County population is Polish
  • 2
    DuPage County
    Polish population in DuPage County is 92,674
    9.99% of DuPage County population is Polish
  • 3
    Will County
    Polish population in Will County is 77,317
    11.07% of Will County population is Polish
  • 4
    Lake County
    Polish population in Lake County is 54,564
    7.66% of Lake County population is Polish
  • 5
    Kane County
    Polish population in Kane County is 36,428
    7.06% of Kane County population is Polish

Overview of Polish population in Illinois

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Illinois with 789,582 Polish residents (6.2% of 12.7 million total state population), ranking the state at the 97th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Polish demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate Illinois's Polish population of 6.2% exceeds the national average of 2.6% by a factor of 2.4.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Illinois hosts 789,582 Polish residents, representing 9.3% of the nation's total Polish population of 8.5 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 document Illinois with 14.2 Polish Americans per square mile, more than five times the national average density of 2.4 per square mile, placing the state among jurisdictions with significantly elevated demographic concentrations nationally.
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102 Counties in Illinois Ranked by Polish Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Polish 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 Polish population count
Rank by Polish Population
County
Polish Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Illinois Polish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cook County 371,589 7.17% 47.06%
2 DuPage County 92,674 9.99% 11.74%
3 Will County 77,317 11.07% 9.79%
4 Lake County 54,564 7.66% 6.91%
5 Kane County 36,428 7.06% 4.61%
6 McHenry County 34,786 11.17% 4.41%
7 Winnebago County 10,014 3.53% 1.27%
8 9,628 7.13% 1.22%
9 6,973 6.39% 0.88%
10 6,618 6.19% 0.84%
11 6,394 2.51% 0.81%
12 6,224 2.35% 0.79%
13 6,066 2.94% 0.77%
14 5,919 5.89% 0.75%
15 5,651 3.31% 0.72%
16 5,238 9.90% 0.66%
17 3,913 2.00% 0.50%
18 3,351 6.29% 0.42%
19 3,094 1.72% 0.39%
20 2,454 1.88% 0.31%
21 2,194 1.53% 0.28%
22 1,802 3.50% 0.23%
23 1,791 5.42% 0.23%
24 1,696 1.65% 0.21%
25 1,401 2.09% 0.18%
26 1,392 2.52% 0.18%
27 1,386 10.13% 0.18%
28 1,297 2.65% 0.16%
29 1,249 3.57% 0.16%
30 1,212 3.16% 0.15%
31 1,190 3.34% 0.15%
32 1,148 3.37% 0.15%
33 1,132 2.15% 0.14%
34 1,064 2.42% 0.13%
35 1,035 2.76% 0.13%
36 943 4.53% 0.12%
37 903 2.45% 0.11%
38 873 3.98% 0.11%
39 868 2.33% 0.11%
40 810 1.11% 0.10%
41 714 1.94% 0.09%
42 660 2.44% 0.08%
43 647 0.99% 0.08%
44 565 1.27% 0.07%
45 529 1.90% 0.07%
46 528 1.13% 0.07%
47 501 1.87% 0.06%
48 492 1.46% 0.06%
49 455 8.13% 0.06%
50 453 3.87% 0.06%
51 447 1.30% 0.06%
51 447 0.91% 0.06%
52 398 2.57% 0.05%
53 374 1.24% 0.05%
54 351 1.25% 0.04%
55 343 2.57% 0.04%
55 343 2.05% 0.04%
56 342 2.60% 0.04%
57 341 2.18% 0.04%
58 338 2.78% 0.04%
59 335 1.61% 0.04%
60 307 0.94% 0.04%
61 298 1.94% 0.04%
62 283 1.67% 0.04%
63 281 2.10% 0.04%
64 265 1.24% 0.03%
65 263 2.04% 0.03%
66 261 1.87% 0.03%
67 255 1.19% 0.03%
68 254 0.76% 0.03%
69 239 1.44% 0.03%
70 203 0.87% 0.03%
71 194 1.04% 0.02%
72 191 1.71% 0.02%
73 177 1.13% 0.02%
74 161 0.97% 0.02%
75 157 1.07% 0.02%
76 147 1.84% 0.02%
77 136 0.69% 0.02%
78 129 1.24% 0.02%
79 119 0.93% 0.02%
80 113 0.78% 0.01%
81 111 0.71% 0.01%
82 109 0.80% 0.01%
83 108 1.17% 0.01%
84 105 0.66% 0.01%
85 100 0.57% 0.01%
86 87 0.74% 0.01%
87 82 1.54% 0.01%
88 68 1.11% 0.01%
89 62 0.37% 0.01%
90 57 0.90% 0.01%
90 57 1.17% 0.01%
91 55 0.81% 0.01%
92 54 1.11% 0.01%
93 48 1.32% 0.01%
94 45 0.30% 0.01%
95 43 0.68% 0.01%
96 35 0.93% 0.00%
97 19 0.43% 0.00%
98 13 0.26% 0.00%
99 7 0.14% 0.00%
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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 county in Illinois 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 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 Polish .
  2. % of Total Illinois 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.
  • County 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.