County · Illinois

Lake County, Illinois

Lake County, Illinois. Lake County had 719,339 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 0.7% since 2020, while Illinois shrank 0.8%. It holds 78 places (52 cities, villages and boroughs, 17 towns and townships and 9 census-designated) and 160 census tracts. GEOID 17097.

Lake County is one of the 13 counties of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (the Census Bureau's July 2023 delineation).

Residents, July 2025 estimate

719,339

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 714,342 · ACS 2020-2024: 714,223

Median household income

$110,416

±$1,747 (90% margin)
Illinois: $83,390

Median home value

$345,700

±$3,502 (90% margin)
Illinois: $263,300

Median gross rent

$1,477

±$29 (90% margin)
Illinois: $1,274

How many people live in Lake County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 714,342 residents in Lake County. The Census Bureau estimates 719,339 for July 1, 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, while Illinois shrank 0.8%. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 714,223 over 444 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +398 (713,775)
2021→2022 −1,363 (712,412)
2022→2023 +1,241 (713,653)
2023→2024 +4,837 (718,490)
2024→2025 +849 (719,339)

Lake County in Illinois. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Lake County	Illinois	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	714,223	12,694,798	+12,750
Households	258,455±1,007	5,036,449	+12,333
Average household size	2.69±0.01	2.46	−0.09
Housing units	270,618±167	5,457,452	+6,540

Lake County's population since 2000

From 644,356 in 2000 to 719,339 in 2025: up 11.6%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 644,356
2005 (estimate) 684,419
2010 Census 703,462
2015 (estimate) 704,687
2020 Census 714,342
2025 (estimate) 719,339

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Lake County?

Lake County holds 78 places: 52 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places), 17 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government) and 9 census-designated places. The largest is Waukegan Township with 89,045 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Lake County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Waukegan Township	township	90,386	89,689±44	$66,896	$176,300	17.4%	100%
Waukegan	city	89,321	89,076±423	$71,919	$190,900	15.3%	100%
Vernon Township	township	71,377	71,411±44	$145,857	$488,400	6.3%	100%
Warren Township, Lake County	township	65,883	65,562±45	$104,155	$325,800	6.2%	100%
Avon Township	township	63,708	63,428±40	$97,925	$230,900	10.5%	100%
Libertyville Township	township	54,192	54,192±100	$134,398	$461,700	6.8%	100%
Ela Township	township	45,287	45,717±77	$173,916	$538,700	2.7%	100%
Lake Villa Township	township	39,796	39,760±71	$119,947	$288,700	5.5%	100%
Shields Township	township	37,685	37,623±45	$112,865	$620,800	9.8%	100%
Moraine Township	township	33,946	34,354±41	$153,798	$583,500	6.0%	100%
Fremont Township	township	33,422	33,607±32	$120,182	$344,600	5.7%	100%
West Deerfield Township	township	31,586	31,575±33	$204,915	$714,300	2.7%	100%
Mundelein	village	31,560	31,915±30	$108,340	$309,700	8.2%	100%
North Chicago	city	30,759	30,643±262	$60,172	$159,600	24.5%	100%
Gurnee	village	30,706	30,510±41	$119,628	$344,300	5.2%	100%
Highland Park	city	30,176	30,398±43	$168,094	$607,300	4.2%	100%
Buffalo Grove	village	43,212	42,891±67	$129,395	$412,300	7.2%	68%
Grant Township, Lake County	township	28,051	28,189±45	$96,383	$252,100	10.1%	100%
Antioch Township	township	27,535	27,680±35	$101,932	$283,200	8.9%	100%
Round Lake Beach	village	27,252	27,079±41	$86,059	$199,200	14.8%	100%
Vernon Hills	village	26,850	26,876±38	$121,943	$412,300	6.1%	100%
Zion	city	24,655	24,600±39	$63,104	$183,800	16.0%	100%
Wauconda Township	township	23,628	23,911±32	$112,337	$289,400	5.3%	100%
Grayslake	village	21,248	20,929±403	$113,972	$309,500	6.3%	100%
Libertyville	village	20,579	20,525±59	$165,667	$512,000	4.2%	100%
Lake Zurich	village	19,759	19,832±64	$135,968	$435,300	3.4%	100%
Lake Forest	city	19,367	19,416±559	$235,081	$938,300	3.5%	100%
Benton Township, Lake County	township	19,082	18,857±39	$82,995	$249,800	8.9%	100%
Round Lake	village	18,721	18,628±37	$111,977	$278,600	9.0%	100%
Deerfield	village	19,196	19,518±294	$181,660	$623,400	2.8%	97%
Cuba Township	township	17,292	17,272±36	$154,263	$564,300	4.7%	100%
Antioch	village	14,622	14,859±41	$108,899	$306,700	7.9%	100%
Lindenhurst	village	14,406	14,417±30	$131,474	$294,100	4.1%	100%
Beach Park	village	14,249	14,115±758	$85,664	$245,800	8.5%	100%
Wauconda	village	14,084	14,027±33	$111,239	$278,600	6.2%	100%
Gages Lake	CDP	10,637	10,819±778	$103,318	$310,500	7.0%	100%
Fox Lake	village	10,978	11,131±492	$70,819	$228,100	13.1%	94%
Hawthorn Woods	village	9,062	9,143±366	$219,631	$619,100	0.6%	100%
Lake Villa	village	8,741	8,683±153	$118,750	$351,700	3.2%	100%
Long Grove	village	8,366	8,305±62	$250,000 or more	$804,600	1.2%	100%
Lincolnshire	village	7,940	7,980±40	$185,580	$677,700	5.2%	100%
Park City	city	7,885	7,827±516	$60,171	$57,400	9.6%	100%
Round Lake Park	village	7,680	7,919±415	$55,813	$164,900	8.7%	100%
Newport Township	township	6,831	6,796±21	$125,074	$350,100	6.2%	100%
Winthrop Harbor	village	6,705	6,559±19	$95,690	$250,800	5.2%	100%
Volo	village	6,122	6,706±26	$160,792	$319,700	2.1%	100%
Lake Bluff	village	5,616	6,041±578	$204,000	$776,700	1.5%	100%
Grandwood Park	CDP	5,297	5,262±599	$126,736	$330,500	2.8%	100%
Lake Barrington	village	5,100	5,442±335	$141,958	$475,700	6.3%	100%
Highwood	city	5,074	5,301±21	$107,875	$405,400	16.0%	100%
Barrington	village	10,722	11,077±644	$147,989	$582,500	4.6%	45%
Green Oaks	village	4,128	4,096±28	$147,614	$673,100	6.1%	100%
Kildeer	village	4,091	4,292±20	$250,000 or more	$770,700	1.0%	100%
Riverwoods	village	3,790	4,013±177	$249,205	$800,700	0.7%	100%
Lakemoor	village	6,182	6,467±711	$100,414	$265,500	4.7%	60%
Deer Park	village	3,681	3,711±91	$174,458	$661,300	1.3%	100%
Long Lake	CDP	3,663	3,307±655	$104,621	$220,100	7.5%	100%
Hainesville	village	3,546	3,524±19	$129,911	$210,500	16.1%	100%
Wadsworth	village	3,517	3,686±248	$142,738	$378,900	8.5%	100%
Island Lake	village	8,051	8,014±53	$103,156	$262,500	6.7%	42%
North Barrington	village	3,171	3,143±385	$226,055	$765,900	4.8%	100%
Venetian Village	CDP	2,761	2,334±475	$79,273	$231,100	4.2%	100%
Fox Lake Hills	CDP	2,684	2,399±542	$111,964	$245,000	3.2%	100%
Round Lake Heights	village	2,622	2,592±542	$78,986	$216,800	14.5%	100%
Knollwood	CDP	2,121	1,864±578	$138,618	$393,000	7.8%	100%
Forest LakeGEOID 1726896	CDP	1,784	1,865±582	$96,250	$346,400	4.0%	100%
Channel Lake	CDP	1,581	2,052±394	$68,250	$223,000	23.1%	100%
Lake Catherine	CDP	1,279	968±262	$91,667	$257,200	11.9%	100%
Tower Lakes	village	1,226	1,106±203	$154,167	$510,300	2.0%	100%
Third Lake	village	1,111	1,137±235	$150,139	$361,500	2.0%	100%
Bannockburn	village	1,013	1,148±155	$214,000	$1,037,200	5.1%	100%
Barrington Hills	village	4,114	3,879±719	$205,074	$913,600	8.2%	14%
Indian Creek	village	536	874±287	$164,250	$450,800	3.2%	100%
Mettawa	village	533	663±159	$181,333	$871,500	6.6%	100%
Port Barrington	village	1,584	1,477±288	$149,886	$379,600	2.7%	34%
Fox River Grove	village	4,702	4,523±146	$121,506	$298,900	3.7%	10%
Old Mill CreekGEOID 1755639	village	162	143±67	$108,333	$450,000	4.9%	100%
Wheeling	village	39,137	38,433±41	$85,205	$266,200	10.0%	0%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Lake County?

The median resident of Lake County is 39.1 years old; 23.3% are under 18 and 15.8% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 56.2%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 24.9%. 19.8% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Lake County	Illinois	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	39.1±0.2	39.0	+0.7
Under 18 years	23.3%±0.1 pts	21.8%	–
65 years and over	15.8%±0.1 pts	17.0%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	24.9%	18.8%	+3.2 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	56.2%±0.1 pts	58.1%	−5.4 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	6.3%±0.1 pts	13.3%	−0.2 pts
Asian alone, not Hispanic	8.6%±0.1 pts	5.9%	+1.0 pts
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.1%±0.1 pts	0.1%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.1 pts	0.0%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	3.3%±0.2 pts	3.4%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.6%±0.1 pts	0.4%	–
Born outside the United States	19.8%±0.4 pts	14.7%	+1.1 pts
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	31.4%±0.5 pts	24.0%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	4.7%±0.2 pts	4.8%	–
With a disability	9.8%±0.3 pts	12.1%	–
No health insurance coverage	6.9%±0.3 pts	6.9%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	90.6%±0.4 pts	90.5%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	47.7%±0.5 pts	37.8%	+2.4 pts
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	20.1%±0.5 pts	15.3%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	2.9%±0.2 pts	1.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Lake County earn?

Half of Lake County's 258,455 households earn less than $110,416 a year (±$1,747), against $83,390 in Illinois. In 2015-2019 it was $110,057 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 8.3% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Lake County	Illinois	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$110,416±$1,747	$83,390	no clear change
Mean household income	$155,726±$2,177	$115,638	–
Per capita income	$57,153±$830	$46,406	no clear change
People below the poverty line	8.3%±0.4 pts	11.8%	no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line	11.5%±0.9 pts	15.1%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	9.4%±0.5 pts	13.8%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	94.3%±0.4 pts	90.8%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Lake County?

Owners occupy 74.8% of Lake County's occupied homes and renters 25.2%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $345,700 by its owner (±$3,502). The median renter pays $1,477 a month including utilities, and 40.1% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Lake County	Illinois	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$345,700±$3,502	$263,300	+$19,443
Median gross rent	$1,477±$29	$1,274	no clear change
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	40.1%±1.8 pts	39.0%	+2.7 pts
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$2,503±$39	$1,987	–
Owner-occupied homes	74.8%±0.6 pts	67.1%	+1.8 pts
Housing units	270,618±167	5,457,452	+6,540
Homeowner vacancy rate	0.9%±0.2 pts	1.0%	–
Rental vacancy rate	3.7%±0.7 pts	5.0%	–
Single-family detached homes	66.6%±0.7 pts	58.2%	–
Mobile homes	1.6%±0.2 pts	2.3%	–
Built 2020 or later	0.6%±0.1 pts	0.7%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	8.4%±0.4 pts	20.2%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Lake County building?

Builders took permits for 1,468 new housing units across Lake County in 2025 (570 single-family), 2.0 per 1,000 residents.

2019 636 units
2020 780 units
2021 902 units
2022 957 units
2023 819 units
2024 1,042 units
2025 1,468 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Lake County get to work?

65.7% of Lake County's workers drive alone and 19.5% work from home. The average trip to work takes 28.5 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 5.2%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Lake County	Illinois	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	68.2%±0.4 pts	65.0%	–
Unemployment rate	5.2%±0.3 pts	5.8%	no clear change
Drove alone to work	65.7%±0.6 pts	65.9%	–
Carpooled	8.5%±0.4 pts	7.8%	–
Public transportation	2.7%±0.3 pts	5.8%	–
Walked	2.1%±0.2 pts	2.8%	–
Worked from home	19.5%±0.6 pts	15.9%	+12.6 pts
Mean travel time to work	28.5 min±0.4	27.8 min	−1.9 min

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Lake County's census tracts?

Lake County is divided into 160 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $22,981 (Tract 8628) to $250,000 or more (Tract 8658.02).

All 160 census tracts of Lake County, with their figures

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Lake County compare with Illinois's other counties?

Lake County's rank among Illinois's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	3rd of 102
Growth 2020-2025	9th of 102
Residents per square mile	3rd of 102
Median household income	3rd of 102
Median home value	2nd of 102
Median gross rent	3rd of 102
Poverty rate	88th of 102
Bachelor's degree or higher	2nd of 102
Median age	86th of 102

Every county in Illinois

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Lake County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.