In 2023, the population of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area in the United States was about 9.26 million people. This was a slight decrease from the previous year, which was about 9.27 million.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (CHIPOP) from 2000 to 2022 about Chicago, WI, IN, IL, residents, population, and USA.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Chicago metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Chicago, WI, IN, IL, civilian, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

Separate tables for the last ten years of Community Data Snapshot releases (2015-2025) are provided for three geographic levels:The seven counties in the CMAP region (with regional total)The 284 municipalities in the CMAP regionThe 77 Chicago community areas (CCAs) There is limited geographic availability (particularly at the CCA level) for some variables. Additional information on availability and data sources are found in the CDS Data Dictionary. Looking to match human-friendly labels to field names? Use the CDS Data Dictionary Crosswalk.When using multiple releases of the snapshots, please don’t compare overlapping ACS 5-Year Estimates. The Census Bureau provides specific guidance for when it is appropriate to compare ACS data across time. CMAP uses the most recently available 5-Year Estimates, which are usually available on a two year lag:CDS release yearACS 5-Year Estimates data vintageCompare to previous CDS release year20252019-20232020, 201520242018-2022201920232017-2021201820222016-2020201720212015-2019201620202014-2018201520192013-2017 20182012-2016 20172011-2015 20162010-2014 20152009-2013 NOTE: Much of the data is from five-year American Community Survey, which is a sample-based data product. This means users must exercise caution when interpreting data from low-population municipalities, as the margins of error are often large compared to the estimate. Not sure which municipality or Chicago community area you want? Explore a community's data in the interactive dashboard.Are you looking for the PDF versions? Find and download the print-friendly Community Data Snapshots from the agency website.

Background/AimNew direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) provide an opportunity to combat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in persons who inject drugs (PWID). Here we use a mathematical model to predict the impact of a DAA-treatment scale-up on HCV prevalence among PWID and the estimated cost in metropolitan Chicago.MethodsTo estimate the HCV antibody and HCV-RNA (chronic infection) prevalence among the metropolitan Chicago PWID population, we used empirical data from three large epidemiological studies. Cost of DAAs is assumed $50,000 per person.ResultsApproximately 32,000 PWID reside in metropolitan Chicago with an estimated HCV-RNA prevalence of 47% or 15,040 cases. Approximately 22,000 PWID (69% of the total PWID population) attend harm reduction (HR) programs, such as syringe exchange programs, and have an estimated HCV-RNA prevalence of 30%. There are about 11,000 young PWID (

Graph and download economic data for Unemployed Persons in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000004) from Jan 1990 to Aug 2025 about Chicago, WI, IN, IL, household survey, persons, unemployment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Employed Persons in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000005) from Jan 1990 to Aug 2025 about Chicago, WI, IN, IL, household survey, persons, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000003A) from 1990 to 2024 about Chicago, WI, IN, IL, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

A dataset listing Illinois cities by population for 2024.

Estimated characteristics of Chicago metro area PWID, random effects meta-analysis of proportions.

Courtesy of MetroPulse

How many incorporated places are registered in the U.S.?

There were 19,502 incorporated places registered in the United States as of July 31, 2019. 16,410 had a population under 10,000 while, in contrast, only 10 cities had a population of one million or more.

Small-town America

Suffice it to say, almost nothing is more idealized in the American imagination than small-town America. When asked where they would prefer to live, 30 percent of Americans reported that they would prefer to live in a small town. Americans tend to prefer small-town living due to a perceived slower pace of life, close-knit communities, and a more affordable cost of living when compared to large cities.

An increasing population

Despite a preference for small-town life, metropolitan areas in the U.S. still see high population figures, with the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago metro areas being the most populous in the country. Metro and state populations are projected to increase by 2040, so while some may move to small towns to escape city living, those small towns may become more crowded in the upcoming decades.

In terms of population size, the sex ratio in the United States favors females, although the gender gap is remaining stable. In 2010, there were around 5.17 million more women, with the difference projected to decrease to around 3 million by 2027.

Gender ratios by U.S. state In the United States, the resident population was estimated to be around 331.89 million in 2021. The gender distribution of the nation has remained steady for several years, with women accounting for approximately 51.1 percent of the population since 2013. Females outnumbered males in the majority of states across the country in 2020, and there were eleven states where the gender ratio favored men.

Metro areas by population National differences between male and female populations can also be analyzed by metropolitan areas. In general, a metropolitan area is a region with a main city at its center and adjacent communities that are all connected by social and economic factors. The largest metro areas in the U.S. are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In 2019, there were more women than men in all three of those areas, but Jackson, Missouri was the metro area with the highest share of female population.

In 2023, the real GDP of the Los Angeles metro area amount to around 1.08 trillion U.S. dollars, and increase after 2021. The overall quarterly GDP growth in the United States can be found here. Gross domestic product of Los AngelesWith a population of over 12.8 million inhabitants in 2023, Los Angeles is the second-largest city in America, following only New York. The Los Angeles metro area also ranked second among U.S. metro areas in terms of gross metropolitan product, second again only to New York City metro area, which came in with a GMP of 1.99 trillion U.S. dollars to Los Angeles’ 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2021. Chicago metro area ranked third with GMP of 757.2 billion U.S. dollars. Additional detailed statistics about GDP in the United States is available here. Despite Los Angeles’ high GDP, L.A. did not do as well as some cities in terms of median household income. Los Angeles ranked 9th with a median household income of 76,135 U.S. dollars annually in 2022. This was slightly higher than the median household income of the United States in 2022, which came in at 74,580 U.S. dollars annually. Located in Southern California, Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, the famous epicenter of the U.S. film and television industries. The United States is one of the leading film markets worldwide, producing 449 films in 2022, many of them produced by Hollywood-based studios. In 2018, movie ticket sales in North America generated over 11.89 billion U.S. dollars in box office revenue. Famous Hollywood actresses earn millions annually, with the best paid, Sofia Vergara, earning 43 million U.S. dollars in 2020. Second on the list was Angelina Jolie with earnings of 35.5 million U.S. dollars.

To advance ON TO 2050’s commitment to inclusive growth, CMAP has defined Economically Disconnected and Disinvested Areas within the region. Economically Disconnected Areas (EDAs) identify areas with concentrations of both low-income households and population of color or limited English proficiency population; approximately one-third of the region’s population lives in EDAs. Disinvested Areas (DAs) outline primarily nonresidential places with long-term declines in employment and other markers of commercial market weakness. Together, EDA and DA communities experience a persistent, long-term lack of market investment, leading to declining property values, taxes, employment, and, frequently, population. Disinvestment often constrains the ability of any individual community to respond effectively to these losses, and high tax rates and low market potential limit private investment. For these reasons, these geographies should be examined both separately and together. While some policy solutions will be common to both geographies, other solutions may be unique to each geography.More information can be found on CMAP's Economically Disconnected and Disinvested Areas webpage.Data sources are detailed in the methodology documents linked below:EDA MethodologyDisinvested Areas MethodologyInclusive Growth Strategy PaperReinvestment and Infill Strategy Paper

This study was a 2-year evaluation of the City of Chicago Domestic Violence Help Line. The Help Line was a unique telephone service functioning as a clearinghouse for all domestic violence victim services in the Chicago metropolitan area. The service was toll-free, multi-lingual, confidential, and operated 24-hours, 7 days a week. The purpose of the Help Line was to connect domestic violence victims to specialized services through direct referrals and three-way phone linkages. In order to conduct a comprehensive evaluation, the perspective of a broad range of users of the Help Line was sought. Telephone interviews were conducted with domestic violence victim callers to the Help Line over the course of one year (Part 1 - Victims Data). Telephone interviews were also conducted with domestic violence service providers (Part 2 - Providers Data). As the largest referral source into the Help Line, Chicago Police Officers completed a written survey about their experiences with the Help Line (Part 3 - Police Data). Finally, to explore the general awareness of the Help Line, members of the District Advisory Committees across the city were surveyed (Part 4 - District Advisory Committee (DAC) Data). The Part 1 (Victims Data) data file contains 399 cases and 277 variables. The Part 2 (Providers Data) data file contains 74 cases and 137 variables. The Part 3 (Police Data) data file contains 1,205 cases and 128 variables. The Part 4 (District Advisory Committee (DAC) Data) data file contains 357 cases and 105 variables.

Courtesy of MetroPulse

The 2007 Chicago Regional Household Travel Inventory (CRHTI) is a comprehensive study of the demographic and travel behavior characteristics of residents in the greater Chicago area. This survey entailed the collection of activity and travel information for all household members regardless of age during a randomly assigned 24-hour or 48-hour period. The survey relied on the willingness of regional households to (1) provide demographic information about the household, its members and its vehicles and (2) have all household members record all travel and activity for the travel period, including address information for all locations visited, trip purpose, mode, and travel times. Demographic variables include gender, age, employment status, household size, whether household members were students on their given travel day, household income, and whether respondents had a valid drivers license at the time of the survey.