How many immigrants are in Illinois?
Data updated September 19, 2024
About 1.88M in 2023. This translates to approximately 15% of the population, or roughly 1 in 7 residents in Illinois. Immigrants were defined as foreign-born residents, which includes people who became US citizens, were authorized to come to the US (e.g. for work), or were undocumented residents.
Showing data for
In 2023
1.88M
Illinois residents were foreign-born
In 2023
1 in 7
Illinois residents were foreign-born
The number of foreign-born residents in Illinois grew from 1.81M in 2013 to 1.88M in 2023. This increase occurred alongside changes in the native-born population due to births, deaths, and people moving. Analyzing the foreign-born share of the total population provides a better view of these demographics. In Illinois, the foreign-born share of the population was 15% in 2023, higher than the US overall at 14.3%, and up from 14% in the state since 2013.
In Illinois, 15% of the population was foreign-born in 2023.
Variations in immigrant populations illustrate a changing population landscape in both local areas and the nation as a whole. The largest immigration populations are concentrated in big metro areas. Metro areas in California, Texas, Florida, and parts of the Northeast typically have a higher share of residents that are foreign-born.
Subscribe to get unbiased, data-driven insights sent to your inbox weekly.
From 2018 to 2022, the metro areas (with data) in the US with the highest and lowest foreign-born population share were: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL at 41.5% foreign-born (highest) and Beckley, WV at 0.9% foreign-born (lowest). The highest and lowest among the metro areas in or connected to Illinois were: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI at 17.7% foreign-born (highest) and Cape Girardeau, MO-IL at 2.2% foreign-born (lowest).
On average, 8.3% of the population in metro areas was foreign-born from 2018 to 2022
Foreign-born share of the population
Average foreign-born share of the population from 2018 to 2022
| 1. | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | 17.7% |
| 2. | Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area | 12.1% |
| 3. | Rockford, IL Metro Area | 8.9% |
| 4. | Bloomington, IL Metro Area | 6.9% |
| 5. | Kankakee, IL Metro Area | 5.1% |
| 6. | Peoria, IL Metro Area | 3.7% |
| 7. | Carbondale-Marion, IL Metro Area | 3.5% |
| 8. | Springfield, IL Metro Area | 2.9% |
| 9. | Decatur, IL Metro Area | 2.5% |
| 10. | Danville, IL Metro Area | 2.3% |
