Chicago is an enormous city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 2,665,039 people and 792 associated neighborhoods, Chicago is the largest community in Illinois. Chicago has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Chicago real estate is some of the most expensive in Illinois, although Chicago house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.
Also of interest is that Chicago has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Chicago telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 15.59% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Chicago is one of the most attractive larger cities for people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although Chicago is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.
One downside of living in Chicago, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 34.71 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
One of the benefits of being a big city like Chicago is having a public transportation system, but in Chicago the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus Chicago benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.
The citizens of Chicago are among the most well-educated in the nation: 42.43% of adults in Chicago have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Chicago in 2022 was $45,840, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $183,360 for a family of four. However, Chicago contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Chicago is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Chicago home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chicago residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Chicago also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 28.95% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Chicago include German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and English.
In addition, Chicago has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (20.24%).
The most common language spoken in Chicago is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.