State profile · IL
Largest Cities in Illinois
Ranked by resident population across 1,336 tracked cities and towns in Illinois, using Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023). This compares cities and Census-designated places, not metropolitan areas.
- 1,336
- Cities
- 11,210,441
- Combined city pop.
- $75,646
- Avg median income
- 9.1%
- Avg poverty rate
Data updated July 2026
The headline finding
Chicago is the largest of 1,336 tracked cities in Illinois, which ranks #21 of 52 nationally on avg median income.
- Chicago
- largest tracked city (2,707,648 people)
- #21
- national rank, avg median income
- 1,336
- cities tracked in this state
Every figure here is read live from the same table rendered below.
Illinois's 1,336 tracked cities include 1 with over 1 million residents; 83% are small towns under 10,000 people.
How we calculate this mix & the national home-value percentile below
Every tracked city in Illinois is bucketed by population: small town under 10,000; mid-size 10,000–99,999; large 100,000–999,999; megacity 1,000,000+. The national home-value comparison below plots Illinois's average tracked-city home value against all 52 US states/territories, ranked the same way as the per-city percentiles: the state's percentile is the share of states with a lower average home value. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
Largest cities in Illinois
By population, hover or tap a bar for income detail
- Chicago
Chicago, IL
2,707,648 residents
- Aurora 179,867
Aurora, IL
179,867 residents
- Joliet 149,785
Joliet, IL
149,785 residents
- Naperville 149,424
Naperville, IL
149,424 residents
- Rockford 147,649
Rockford, IL
147,649 residents
- Elgin 114,106
Elgin, IL
114,106 residents
- Springfield 113,714
Springfield, IL
113,714 residents
- Peoria 112,126
Peoria, IL
112,126 residents
- Waukegan 88,919
Waukegan, IL
88,919 residents
- Champaign 88,822
Champaign, IL
88,822 residents
- Cicero 83,223
Cicero, IL
83,223 residents
- Bloomington 78,703
Bloomington, IL
78,703 residents
What this shows Chicago, IL is the most populous city profiled in Illinois; the full list of all 1,336 cities follows below.
How Illinois ranks nationally
Avg median income
$75,646
#21 of 52 · highest income
Avg home value
$168,613
#38 of 52 · highest values
Avg poverty rate
9.1%
#25 of 52 · lowest poverty
Tracked cities
1,336
#4 of 52 · most tracked cities
Illinois ranks #21 of 52 nationally on average median income and #25 of 52 on average poverty rate, derived live by comparing it against every other tracked state. Averages are computed only across the cities PlainCities tracks in each state, not full state populations.
How Illinois's home values compare nationally
Average tracked-city home value vs. all 52 US states/territories
$168,613 Among the most affordable more affordable than 73% of 52 US states
Each bar is a $50K-wide band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Which cities does Illinois include?
What to do with Illinois's city data
1,336 cities is a lot to browse, here's where to start.
- Chicago is Illinois's largest tracked city by population, start there if you want the fullest picture of a major IL metro. Chicago profile
- Hinsdale has the highest median household income of any tracked city in Illinois, a different lens than population size alone. Hinsdale profile
- See how Illinois's cities stack up nationally, not just against each other. National rankings
City counts and averages on this page cover only the 1,336 places with sufficient Census ACS data, smaller towns below the reporting threshold are not included.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cities does PlainCities track in Illinois?
PlainCities profiles 1,336 cities and towns in Illinois, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023).
What is the largest city in Illinois?
Chicago is the largest tracked city in Illinois, with a population of 2,707,648.
What is the average household income in Illinois?
Across the 1,336 tracked cities in Illinois, the average median household income is $75,646. Individual cities vary widely, with Hinsdale reporting the highest median income at $250,001.
What is the average poverty rate in Illinois?
The average poverty rate across Illinois's tracked cities is 9.1%, based on Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023).
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.