County profile

Cook County / Chicago, IL

Reading this county

Cook County is the second most populous county in the United States, and it leads on culture: live music, farmers markets, history museums, Michelin stars. The Adler Planetarium, the first in the Western Hemisphere, has stood on the lakeshore since 1930. The county's population is falling. Housing costs much less than in the coastal metros Chicago is compared to, though owners give part of that saving back in property tax at 2.09%.

Live Music: 141: 141 live music venues, a count exactly one county in the country beats. At that number you can go to a show on a weeknight without planning around it. >99% of 3,143 counties
Michelin Rated Restaurants: 3 Star: A three-Michelin-star restaurant is in the county, one of only seven counties in the country with one. Alinea sells seats as tickets released to a mailing list instead of taking reservations, so getting in means watching for the release. >99% of 3,143 counties
Property Tax: 2.09%: A 2.09% average property tax rate, higher than 96% of counties, applied to a $353K median home comes to roughly $7,400 a year before any exemption. The headline rate is not what most owners pay: a stack of separate exemptions is filed against that bill, and each has to be kept up. >96% of 3,143 counties
Population Growth: ↓-1.7%: The county's population fell 1.7% in 2025, a steeper drop than in 95% of counties. A homeowner whose lot sits beside a Chicago-owned empty one can apply to buy it at a fraction of market value, on condition they fence it and keep it up. <95% of 3,143 counties
The trade-off — Violent Crime Rate: 620²: 620 violent incidents per 100,000 residents a year, higher than 95% of counties. On school days, adults in neon vests staff marked walking routes to and from selected schools, hired from the neighbourhoods they stand in. >95% of 3,143 counties

Chicago is a city of innovation - just look at its world-famous museums for proof. After all, the zipper, the Twinkie, the vacuum cleaner, spray-paint, and the Ferris wheel were all born in the Windy City.

Demographics and county data

Each comparison is against the US counties that publish the same measurement. Measurements where too many counties share a single value to be ranked show no comparison at all.

Abortion Regulation: Legal (Restricted)
ACT/SAT Scores: #24
Air Quality: 10.0¹
Alcohol Regulation: #42
All Occupations: $72K¹
American Indians/Alaskan Natives: ↓-1.7%
Amish, Mennonites, etc: ↓-2.3%⁷
Any Airport: 0h 16m
Any Natural Disaster: Very High³
Architecture & Engineering: $91K¹⁰
Art Museums: 26
Arts, Design, Sports, Media & Entertainment: $71K¹⁰
Asian Americans: ↑6.0%
Asian Language Speakers: ↑3.2%
Avalanche: none³
Average School Rating: 32.4⁶
Beergardens & Brewpubs: 50+
Bike Score: 72
Blacks/African Americans: ↑14.0%
Boating: 159
Broadband Internet: 81%
Buddhists: ↑0.4%⁷
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $37K¹⁰
Business & Financial Operations: $89K¹⁰
Cannabis Regulation: Legal
Cat Friendly Rentals: 59%
Catholics: ↑23.7%⁷
City Population: 2.75M
Climate Change Risk: 3.3
Coastal Flooding: none³
Cold Wave: Very High³
Community & Social Service: $55K¹⁰
Commute Time: 34
Computer & Mathematical: $101K¹⁰
Construction & Extraction: $74K¹⁰
County Population: 5.17M
Cuisine Diversity: 54
Cycling: 50+
Dentists: 9.5
Dog Friendly Rentals: 46%
Drought: Very Low³
Earthquakes: Medium³
Education, Training, & Library: $60K¹⁰
Educational Attainment: 32%
Elevation: 653'⁸
English Speakers: ↓-10.4%
Farmers Markets: 91
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $42K¹⁰
Fatal Dog Attacks: 2
Fatal Wildlife Attacks: 0
Fire Ants: none
Fishing: 170
Food Preparation & Serving Related: $33K¹⁰
Forests: 12%
Freshwater Access: 329
Gluten-Free Options: 40
Golf: 90
Gun Open Carry Regulation: Illegal
Hail: Medium³
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical: $93K¹⁰
Healthcare Support: $37K¹⁰
Heat Wave: Very High³
High School Graduation Rate: 84%¹
Hiking: 135
Hindus: ↑0.1%⁷
Hispanics/Latinos: ↑15.7%
History Museums: 31
Home Ownership Rate: 57%
Homelessness: 90
Homicide Rate: 13¹
Hospitals: 42
Hurricanes: Low³
Ice Storms: High³
Indo-European Language Speakers: ↑6.9%
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair: $58K¹⁰
Investment Potential: 28 / 100
Jehovah's Witnesses: ↓-0.6%⁷
Jews: ↑0.8%⁷
Landslide: Low³
LDS / Mormons: ↓-1.9%⁷
Legal: $125K¹⁰
Life Expectancy: 80¹
Life, Physical, & Social Science: $88K¹⁰
Lightning: High³
Live Music: 141
Major Airport: 0h 16m
Major City Proximity: Major City
Major League Baseball: 0h 07m
Major League Soccer: 0h 04m
Management: $128K¹⁰
Median Age: 37 years¹¹
Median Home Price: $353K⁴
Median Rental - 1 BR Apartment: $1,723
Median Rental - 2 BR Apartment: $1,945
Median Rental - 3 BR Apartment: $2,498
Median Rental - 4 BR Apartment: $2,935
Median Rental - Room: $944
Median Rental - Single Family Home: $2,075⁴
Median Rental - Studio Apartment: $1,611
Mental Health Providers: 29.0
Meth Labs: 0
Michelin Rated Restaurants: 3 Star
Minor League Baseball: 3h 11m
Mountains: 472'⁸
Multiracials: ↓-0.2%
Muslims: ↑3.6%⁷
National Parks: 0h 46m
Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders: ↓-0.1%
NBA Basketball: 0h 05m
NFL Football: 0h 04m
NHL Hockey: 0h 05m
Not Religious / Atheists / Agnostics: ↑4.0%
Nuclear Strike: Direct Target
Obesity Rate: 28%¹
Office & Administrative Support: $47K¹⁰
Orthodox Christians: ↓-0.2%⁷
Other Language Speakers: ↑1.3%
Other Relocation Incentives: none
Park Score: 98%⁹
People 0-9 Years Old: ↑0.2%
People 10-19 Years Old: ↓-0.6%
People 20-29 Years Old: ↑2.8%
People 30-39 Years Old: ↑3.3%
People 40-49 Years Old: ↑1.1%
People 50-59 Years Old: ↓-1.1%
People 60-69 Years Old: ↓-2.6%
People 70-79 Years Old: ↓-2.2%
People 80+ Years Old: ↓-0.9%
Performing Arts: 11
Personal Care & Service: $38K¹⁰
Political Orientation: 82% Dems
Population Density: 5,583
Population Growth: ↓-1.7%
Poverty Rate: 12.9%
Primary Care Physicians: 9.5¹
Private/Home School Regulation: #44
Production: $45K¹⁰
Property Crime Rate: 2,983
Property Tax: 2.09%
Protective Service: $61K¹⁰
Protestants / Non-Denominationals: ↓-18.5%⁷
Rain: 34"
Regional Theatre: 6
River Flooding: Very High³
Sales & Related: $52K¹⁰
Sales Tax: 11.0%
Same Sex Households: ↑0.2%
Scenic Beauty: #48
Seasons: 54 °F
Shark Attacks: 0
Single Parent Households: ↑5.8%
Skiing: 0h 36m
Small or Major Airport: 0h 16m
Smokers: 16%¹
Snow: 30"
Spanish Speakers: ↑14.2%
State Income Tax: 5.0%
Strong Wind: High³
Summer Heat: 84 °F
Summer Mugginess: Sticky
Sunny Days: 189
Termite Infestation: Moderate
Tobacco Regulation: #1
Top School Rating: 99.4⁶
Tornadoes: Very High³
Traffic: 1.87M
Transit Score: 65
Transportation & Material Moving: $46K¹⁰
Tsunami: none³
Typical Expenses: $67K⁵
Typical Expenses: $121K⁵
Typical Expenses: $49K⁵
Typical Expenses: $139K⁵
Typical Expenses: $141K⁵
Typical Expenses: $93K⁵
Typical Expenses: $87K⁵
Typical Expenses: $86K⁵
Typical Expenses: $111K⁵
Typical Expenses: $77K⁵
Typical Expenses: $95K⁵
Typical Expenses: $67K⁵
Unemployment Rate: 11.1%¹
Vegetarian Friendliness: 50+
Violent Crime Rate: 620
Volcanic Activity: none³
Walk Score: 77
Water Quality: 3/4
Whites: ↓-33.8%
Wildfires: Very Low³
Windiness: 17 mph
Wineries: 7
Winter Cold: 30 °F
Winter Weather: Very High³

Cities

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