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

The Puerto Rican population in Cook County, IL is recorded at 140,334 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Cook County - including Chicago, Berwyn, Elgin, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Puerto Rican 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 Puerto Rican communities are spread across Cook County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Puerto Rican population in Cook County

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  • 1
    Chicago
    Puerto Rican population in Chicago is 93,512
    3.45% of Chicago population is Puerto Rican
  • 2
    Berwyn
    Puerto Rican population in Berwyn is 4,120
    7.37% of Berwyn population is Puerto Rican
  • 3
    Elgin
    Puerto Rican population in Elgin is 3,499
    3.07% of Elgin population is Puerto Rican
  • 4
    Cicero
    Puerto Rican population in Cicero is 2,799
    3.36% of Cicero population is Puerto Rican
  • 5
    Elmwood Park
    Puerto Rican population in Elmwood Park is 2,782
    11.60% of Elmwood Park population is Puerto Rican

Overview of Puerto Rican population in Cook County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Cook County contains 140,334 Puerto Rican residents (2.7% of 5.2 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 99th percentile within Illinois for Puerto Rican demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Cook County's Puerto Rican population of 2.7% surpassing both Illinois's state average of 1.7% and the national average of 1.8%, 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 140,334 Puerto Rican residents, constituting 66.1% of Illinois's total Puerto Rican population of 212,170, creating a demographic concentration where more than half of the state's Puerto Rican 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 148.5 Puerto Ricans per square mile, representing more than thirty-eight times Illinois's average of 3.8 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 Puerto Rican Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Puerto Rican populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Chicago, Berwyn, Elgin, and Cicero. 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 Puerto Rican population count
Rank by Puerto Rican Population
City
Puerto Rican Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cook County Puerto Rican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Chicago 93,512 3.45% 66.64%
2 Berwyn 4,120 7.37% 2.94%
3 Elgin 3,499 3.07% 2.49%
4 Cicero 2,799 3.36% 1.99%
5 Elmwood Park 2,782 11.60% 1.98%
6 Arlington Heights 2,067 2.71% 1.47%
7 Melrose Park 2,014 8.22% 1.44%
8 1,631 2.75% 1.16%
9 1,515 2.28% 1.08%
10 1,490 14.21% 1.06%
11 1,071 5.87% 0.76%
12 1,043 1.90% 0.74%
13 945 2.56% 0.67%
14 944 1.23% 0.67%
15 812 1.06% 0.58%
16 811 2.07% 0.58%
17 810 3.01% 0.58%
18 794 3.43% 0.57%
19 785 1.47% 0.56%
20 776 11.15% 0.55%
21 705 3.84% 0.50%
21 705 1.38% 0.50%
22 696 5.55% 0.50%
23 665 1.20% 0.47%
24 649 6.25% 0.46%
25 621 0.93% 0.44%
26 600 3.59% 0.43%
27 552 2.87% 0.39%
28 524 1.34% 0.37%
29 492 1.21% 0.35%
30 474 1.64% 0.34%
30 474 0.83% 0.34%
31 446 5.04% 0.32%
32 390 1.21% 0.28%
32 390 1.58% 0.28%
33 381 1.26% 0.27%
34 370 2.24% 0.26%
35 350 1.30% 0.25%
36 336 2.40% 0.24%
37 331 0.86% 0.24%
38 309 1.29% 0.22%
39 304 0.86% 0.22%
40 298 0.63% 0.21%
41 266 1.43% 0.19%
42 263 1.88% 0.19%
43 251 0.91% 0.18%
44 246 1.36% 0.18%
45 239 5.31% 0.17%
46 237 0.83% 0.17%
47 231 1.10% 0.16%
48 228 0.97% 0.16%
49 215 5.07% 0.15%
50 209 1.38% 0.15%
51 207 0.36% 0.15%
52 200 0.47% 0.14%
53 194 1.78% 0.14%
54 191 1.11% 0.14%
55 178 1.44% 0.13%
56 177 1.55% 0.13%
57 168 0.49% 0.12%
58 163 1.42% 0.12%
59 152 0.93% 0.11%
60 151 1.56% 0.11%
61 141 1.31% 0.10%
62 136 0.69% 0.10%
63 130 0.81% 0.09%
64 119 1.76% 0.08%
65 112 1.38% 0.08%
66 108 1.02% 0.08%
67 107 0.68% 0.08%
68 100 1.06% 0.07%
69 98 0.83% 0.07%
70 97 0.50% 0.07%
71 92 0.63% 0.07%
72 85 0.44% 0.06%
72 85 0.48% 0.06%
73 84 0.59% 0.06%
73 84 0.86% 0.06%
74 81 0.36% 0.06%
75 71 1.36% 0.05%
76 69 0.60% 0.05%
77 65 0.75% 0.05%
78 60 0.45% 0.04%
79 58 0.44% 0.04%
80 57 0.31% 0.04%
81 51 4.99% 0.04%
82 50 0.24% 0.04%
83 48 1.21% 0.03%
84 46 0.42% 0.03%
85 45 0.33% 0.03%
85 45 0.60% 0.03%
86 44 2.49% 0.03%
87 43 0.73% 0.03%
88 39 0.62% 0.03%
88 39 0.73% 0.03%
89 37 0.33% 0.03%
90 32 1.49% 0.02%
91 30 0.38% 0.02%
91 30 0.76% 0.02%
92 27 0.22% 0.02%
93 25 0.33% 0.02%
94 23 0.55% 0.02%
95 21 0.83% 0.02%
96 12 0.11% 0.01%
97 11 1.85% 0.01%
98 10 0.08% 0.01%
99 9 0.10% 0.01%
99 9 0.07% 0.01%
100 8 0.17% 0.01%
100 8 0.16% 0.01%
101 7 0.24% 0.01%
101 7 0.18% 0.01%
101 7 0.55% 0.01%
101 7 0.08% 0.01%
102 4 0.36% 0.00%
103 1 0.03% 0.00%
103 1 0.01% 0.00%
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 0 - -
104 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 Puerto Rican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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