Cook County, Illinois

Cook County has a population of 5,182,090 and has shrunk 1.6% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $324,500, about 3.9 times the county's median household income of $83,498.

Home price
$324,500
Income
$83,498
Population
5,182,090
Unemployment
7.0%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$324,500county
Median gross rent$1,435county
Median year homes here were built1961county
Share of homes built before 198073.2%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile0.8%county
Share of homes that are vacant7.7%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented42.3%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use0.5%county
Typical monthly rent$2,336county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,781county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,581county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,294county
Home insurance / yr$2,643(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living94.7(statewide)
Median household income$83,498county
Family health premium / yr$24,993(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$16,107(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$4.250(statewide)
Poverty rate13.5%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home18.9%county
Unemployment rate7.0%county
Share of adults in the labor force66.2%county
Share of workers who are self-employed4.8%county
Share of workers employed by government12.2%county
Share of workers in the largest industry23.6%county
Economic output per resident$105,448county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.91%county
Top state income tax4.95%(statewide)
Capital gains tax4.95%(statewide)
Combined sales tax8.98%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time31.5 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service5.8 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport10360093county
Miles to nearest general aviation field18 micounty
Airports with airline service located here2county
General aviation airfields located here2county
Passenger train stations and the railway network5county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station5.8 micounty
Households without a vehicle18.0%county
Traffic deaths18.2county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-1.4(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher42.7%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher88.6%county
Public schools in the county1268county
Public school enrollment696942county
Students per full-time teacher13.6county
Free lunch eligible66.0%county
Elementary schools874county
Middle schools159county
High schools199county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above45county
Share of local colleges that are public26.5%county
Two-year institutions23county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution3.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians92county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county57county
Hospitals here with an emergency department47county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter10.8 µgcounty
Without health insurance8.9%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year19.2%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year16.0%county
Frequent mental distress15.0%county
No leisure-time physical activity21.6%county
Diagnosed diabetes11.9%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population5,182,090county
Land area in square miles945county
People per square mile of land5484.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores1,345county
Convenience stores437county
Share living far from a food store5.5%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract1.6%county
Population change since 2020-1.6%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents2county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents5county
Median age38.0 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1821.1%county
Share of residents 65 and over16.0%county
Share of households that are one person34.7%county
Share of residents born outside the United States21.7%county
Second languages35.8%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls54.3%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents67county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-6county
Households that moved in86,012county
Households that moved away100,358county
Average income of arriving households$85,470county
Average income of departing households$117,738county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes2county
Housing units authorised in the latest year4,969county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings76.0%county
Violent crime rate289(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature51.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation30.1 incounty
Annual snowfall30.0 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.87 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F20 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing105 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 6acounty
Frost-free days190 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 19county
Average first fall frostOct 26county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$89county
Electric utilities serving this county1county
Electricity price per kWh15.2¢county
Household electricity use583 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$15.00(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity16.1%county
Homes heated by utility gas80.2%county
Homes heated by propane1.5%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.1%county
Homes heated by wood0.0%county
Households with broadband90.6%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk99.9county
Coastal flood risk44.0county
Drought risk25.7county
Landslide risk56.4county
Hail risk99.1county
Earthquake risk98.4county
Tornado risk100.0county
Tropical cyclone risk48.9county
Extreme heat risk99.8county
Winter weather risk100.0county
Strong wind risk99.6county
Wildfire risk55.8county

Sports

Major pro teams based here5county
NFL teams based here1county
NBA teams based here1county
MLB teams based here2county
NHL teams based here1county
MLS soccer teams based here1county
Top-division college football teams1county
Second-tier college football teams1county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here1county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Cook County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Illinois figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

Similar counties in Illinois

Compare Cook with anywhere else

Put this county side by side with any other in the country, or weight the factors that matter to you and rank all 50 states.

Open Cook in the map