Illinois

Illinois by the Numbers:
Key Statistical Data and Facts

Key Details

• As of 2022, Illinois has an estimated population of 12.6 million residents.
• Between 2017 and 2021, the median household income in Illinois was $72,563, higher than the national average of $70,784.
• 34% of voters in Illinois identify as independents, 33% as Democrats, and 29% as Republicans.
• As of 2021, 37.1% of Illinios’s residents aged 25 years and over have high school diplomas or bachelor’s degrees.
• The unemployment rate in Illinois stands at 4.4% as of March 2023 
• Life expectancy for residents in Illinois is 76.8 years (higher than the national average of 76.4 years).
• The crime rate in Illinois averages 3.43 per 1,000 residents yearly, with a total of 247,054 reported incidents and 52,312 arrests in 2020.

Illinois Population Demographics

Located in the midwestern United States, Illinois shares its borders with multiple states, including Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin. As of July 1, 2021, Illinois's population was estimated to be 12,686,469.

Census data for 2021 show a high proportion of the population (55.7%) comprises persons of ages 18 to 64 years. In addition, 5.6% of the population is under five years, 22.1% is under 18, and 16.6% is 65 and over. Divided across gender, 50.6% of the population is female, and males account for 49.4%.

Census Bureau data showed a 0.1% drop in population between 2010 and 2020. An estimated 1,628,866 people left Illinois between 2014 and 2018 (this was a 15.6% increase over the figure for the previous four years). Also, between 2021 and 2022,  113,776 residents migrated from Illinois to other locations.

Total Population of Illinois from April 1, 1950, to April 1, 2020

Illinois Population Projection by Age, 2010 to 2030

Illinois Population Projection by Sex, 2010 to 2030

Data Source: Illinois Department of Public Health.

Illinois Housing

According to the US Census

5,440,401

As of July 1, 2021, there were 5,440,401 housing units in Illinois

66.5%

of Illinois’s housing units are owner-occupied

$212,600

with a median value of $212,600 as of July 1, 2021

$1,781 and $681

The average monthly rate for owner-occupied houses in Illinois with and without mortgages

4,930,255 households

From 2017 to 2021, 4,930,255 households lived in Illinois

$72,563

On average, an Illinois household comprises 2.54 people with a median income of $72,563 (this figure is higher than the national average of $70,784 for the period).

Illinois Racial Demographics

Like most states in the U.S., Illinois has a racially diversified population that includes whites, Americans of African origin, Asians, Latinos, Hawaiians, Alaska natives, and Pacific Islanders.

Note: Individuals who indicated white as their race in the U.S. Census questionnaires include Europeans, North Africans, and people of Middle East origin.

Elections in Illinois

As of 2023, the Illinois governorship has alternated between the Democrats and the Republicans for over 100 years. The Democratic Party won three of the four Illinois governorship elections between 2002 and 2019, except for the 2014 governorship election, which was won by Bruce Rauner of the Republican party (the 42nd governor of the state).

The Democratic party has won every presidential election in the state between 1992 to 2020. Before 1992, the Republican Party won all five presidential elections in the state from 1968 till the coming of Bill Clinton in 1992.

As of 2023, the governor of Illinois is the Democratic Party’s JB Pritzker, who has been in office since January 14, 2019 (as the 43rd governor of the state). Illinois's two representatives in the U.S. Senate are DemocratsRichard Durbin (senior senator) and Tammy Duckworth (junior senator), and they are up for re-election in 2026 and 2028. In addition, 14 of the 17 Illinois representatives in the 117th U.S. Congress are Democrats.

2020 Presidential Election

In the 2020 presidential elections, there were 8,364,099 registered voters in Illinois, and the total ballot cast was 6,098,729 (72.92%). The Democratic party won the 21 electoral college votes available for the state. Joseph Biden of the Democratic party pulled 3,471,915 votes (57.54% of the valid votes) against 2,446,891 votes (40.55%) for Donald Trump of the Republican party.

Joe Biden

Donald Trump

Illinois Voting Statistics

The Democrats have dominated the presidential elections in Illinois from 1992 to 2020. The Democrats have won the state's electoral college votes for the past eight consecutive presidential elections (from 1992 to 2020). More than 154.6 million people voted in the U.S. 2020 presidential elections (over 17 million more than the 137.5 million who took part in 2016). 34% of voters in the United States identify as independents, 33% as Democrats, and 29% as Republicans.

Although Illinois has been a strong Democrat state, it does not register voters on party identification. During the 2022 general elections, there were 8,115,751 registered voters in Illinois and a total ballot cast of 4,144,125 (51.06%).

General Election

How Educated Is Illinois

As of 2021, 37.1% of Illinois’s residents aged 25 years and over have high school diplomas or bachelor’s degrees. 22.1% were bachelor’s degree holders, 8.3% had associate’s degrees, 25.1% were high school graduates, and 15% were graduates or professional degree holders. Illinois had a school enrollment of 67.9% (from kindergarten to the 12th grade). This was lower than the 68.2% national average for that year

Illinois Employment Rate

Illinois’s unemployment rate has varied over the past years. As of March 2023, Illinois’s unemployment rate stands at 4.4% (a 0.1% drop from the 4.5% of the previous month). Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 6,193,210 of Illinois's 6,477,054  labor force were employed as of March 2023 (a 64.7% labor force participation rate and a 61.8% employment-population ratio).

However, the employment count and unemployment rate differ across locations and economic sectors. For instance, in the Bloomington economic area, the unemployment rate in Mclean County fell from 3.8 to 3.3 between March 2022 and March 2023 and is lower than in DeWitt County, where it dropped from 4.5 to 4.4 for the same period. Also, the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector dipped from 570,000 to 568,600 between February and March 2023.  construction jobs rose from 232,100 to 232,600 over the period.

Average Income in Illinois

Between 2017 and 2921, Illinois's estimated median household income was $72,563 ($1,779 higher than the national average of $70,784). In Illinois, families with one income earner have a median income of $61,456. Also, for families having two or three earners, the average income rose to $81,190 and $97,067.

Families in Illinois

Illinois Marriage Rates

Illinois Divorce Rates

As of 2021, Illinois’s divorce rate stands at 1.3 per 1,000 residents living within the state. In Illinois, 8.4% of the male and 10.8% of female residents are divorced. Also, 1.4% of male and 1.8% of female residents are separated. Illinois’s divorce rate declined between 2010 and 2021 (except in 2020). In 2021, the divorce rate was 1.3 per 1,000 residents, compared to 2.6 per 1,000 in 2010.

Life Expectancy in Illinois

Data from the National Centre for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that as of 2020, the life expectancy of the average Illinois resident is 76.8 years. This figure is higher than the national average of 76.4 years.

The life expectancy for males differs from those of Females. As of 2019, the life expectancy for males in Illinois is 76.4 years, while it is 81.5 years for females, making the difference between the life expectancies of males and females at birth 5.1 (same as the national average).

However, the life expectancy figures for males and females in Illinois are higher than the national averages of 73.5 years and 79.3 years for males and females.

Illinois Crime Rates

The crime rate in Illinois averages 3.43 per 1,000 residents yearly. On average, a crime is being committed in Illinois every sixty seconds. Crime rate differs across the state, with counties within the northern region considered as having a lower crime rate than other parts of the state.

A 2020 Index Crime & Crime Rate Data from the Illinois State Police showed that 247,054 crime incidents were reported for the year, and 52,312 arrests were made (this is a reduction from the previous year’s data of 281,329 crime incidents with 55,682 arrests).

In 2021, 373 of the 935 law enforcement agencies in Illinois reported 19,951 offenses to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). These figures include 17,741 violent crimes.

Illinois Incarceration Rate

According to statistics from the National Institute of Corrections,

1000,000 residents

As of 2021, Illinois has an incarceration rate of 497 per 1000,000 residents.

53,000 inmates

This figure approximates about 53,000 inmates in various detention centers across the state (including prisons, jails, juvenile centers, and immigration cells). Illinois’s incarceration rate is below the United States national average for the year and ranks 14th lowest among the U.S. states.

52,8%

A majority of Illinois inmates are jailed at state prisons (52.8%), while the rest are in local jails (32.1%), federal prisons (11.5%), involuntary confinements (2.3%), and juvenile jails (1.6).

380%

There was over a 380% increase in the number of people incarcerated in Illinois between 1970 and 2021, and about 87% of inmates are on pretrial. The incarceration rate in Illinois differs for different crimes.

57,359 inmates

Data from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) shows that Illinois had 57,359 inmates in various prisons and jails in the state as of 2019, and the incarceration rate was 302 per 100,000 residents (compared to 497 per 100,000 in 2021). This shows an increase of 64.6% between 2019 and 2021.

The Prison Policy Initiative has published data showing the incarceration rate for women as of 2015 was 43 per 100,000 persons. On the other hand, the incarceration rate was 747 per 100,000 persons.

Illinois Bankruptcy Rate

2022

20,393 bankruptcy cases

In 2022, Illinois had 20,393 bankruptcy cases and ranked 4th highest among the U.S. states. Among the different types of bankruptcy, non-business bankruptcy (Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies) is the most common in the state. The number of bankruptcy cases in Illinois declined between 2011 and 2022. For instance, Bankruptcy cases dropped from 62,617 in 2010 to 11,967 in 2020. Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases were reduced from 444 in 2009 to 88 in 2022. The table below shows how the number of bankruptcy cases varied in Illinois between 2010 and 2022.

Data source: American Bankruptcy Institute.

Weird Laws in Illinois

As a resident or visitor to Illinois, there are some state laws that you may find absurd or strange. Below are some Illinois laws that may sound fictitious but are true.