Russian Population in Lake County, IL by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Russian population in Lake County, IL is recorded at 15,153 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Lake County - including Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Deerfield, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Russian 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 Russian communities are spread across Lake County, IL and comparable counties throughout Illinois.

Top 5 cities with the largest Russian population in Lake County

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  • 1
    Buffalo Grove
    Russian population in Buffalo Grove is 2,738
    6.39% of Buffalo Grove population is Russian
  • 2
    Highland Park
    Russian population in Highland Park is 2,540
    8.40% of Highland Park population is Russian
  • 3
    Deerfield
    Russian population in Deerfield is 1,942
    10.12% of Deerfield population is Russian
  • 4
    Vernon Hills
    Russian population in Vernon Hills is 1,523
    5.69% of Vernon Hills population is Russian
  • 5
    Riverwoods
    Russian population in Riverwoods is 637
    15.97% of Riverwoods population is Russian

Overview of Russian population in Lake County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Lake County contains 15,153 Russian residents (2.1% of 711,885 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 98th percentile within Illinois for Russian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS show Lake County's Russian population of 2.1% surpassing both Illinois's state average of 0.75% and the national average of 0.69%, positioning the county as a high-concentration jurisdiction exceeding demographic benchmarks across all geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey indicate Lake County's 15,153 Russian residents constitute 16% of Illinois's total Russian population of 94,794, placing the county among jurisdictions with the highest demographic concentrations, with 16% of all Illinois Russian Americans residing within county boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data shows Lake County maintains 34.2 Russian Americans per square mile, representing exactly twenty times Illinois's average of 1.7 per square mile, establishing the county as an exceptional concentration center comparable to major metropolitan demographic areas.
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50 Cities in Lake County Ranked by Russian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Russian populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Deerfield, and Vernon Hills. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 50 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Lake County, IL ranked by Russian population count
Rank by Russian Population
City
Russian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Lake County Russian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Buffalo Grove 2,738 6.39% 18.07%
2 Highland Park 2,540 8.40% 16.76%
3 Deerfield 1,942 10.12% 12.82%
4 Vernon Hills 1,523 5.69% 10.05%
5 Riverwoods 637 15.97% 4.20%
6 Long Grove 574 6.94% 3.79%
7 Lake Zurich 478 2.42% 3.15%
8 469 5.91% 3.10%
9 453 1.43% 2.99%
10 378 1.24% 2.49%
11 345 1.67% 2.28%
12 317 1.71% 2.09%
13 273 1.33% 1.80%
14 242 1.26% 1.60%
15 209 0.68% 1.38%
16 198 1.79% 1.31%
17 174 4.15% 1.15%
18 160 3.05% 1.06%
19 146 1.60% 0.96%
20 130 3.69% 0.86%
21 123 0.83% 0.81%
22 121 0.14% 0.80%
23 106 0.74% 0.70%
24 96 0.35% 0.63%
25 88 7.32% 0.58%
26 79 0.56% 0.52%
27 75 1.29% 0.50%
28 72 0.66% 0.48%
29 70 1.05% 0.46%
30 66 0.27% 0.44%
31 63 0.79% 0.42%
32 58 6.50% 0.38%
33 48 0.61% 0.32%
34 31 2.76% 0.20%
35 26 0.64% 0.17%
36 23 0.62% 0.15%
36 23 0.26% 0.15%
37 21 3.16% 0.14%
38 20 0.64% 0.13%
39 19 1.66% 0.13%
40 18 0.13% 0.12%
41 16 0.27% 0.11%
42 12 0.16% 0.08%
42 12 0.76% 0.08%
43 9 0.35% 0.06%
44 8 0.15% 0.05%
45 6 0.15% 0.04%
46 0 - -
46 0 - -
46 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 Lake County, IL by their Russian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

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

How We Ranked the Data

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

Sources

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