Data / Rankings / Housing units / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by housing units

Chicago, IL had the highest housing units of 224 cities in 2021, at 1.25 million. Manhattan, IL had the lowest, at 3,209. The median was 8,748 and the figure for Illinois was 5.41 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,252,478Chicago, IL
Lowest3,209Manhattan, IL
Median8,748224 cities
Illinois5,412,995History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Chicago, IL: 1,252,478 countChicago, IL1,252,478Rockford, IL: 67,999 countRockford, IL67,999Aurora, IL: 63,936 countAurora, IL63,936Springfield, IL: 56,712 countSpringfield, IL56,712Naperville, IL: 55,774 countNaperville, IL55,774Peoria, IL: 54,570 countPeoria, IL54,570Joliet, IL: 52,602 countJoliet, IL52,602Champaign, IL: 40,291 countChampaign, IL40,291Elgin, IL: 39,550 countElgin, IL39,550Bloomington, IL: 36,122 countBloomington, IL36,122Decatur, IL: 36,016 countDecatur, IL36,016Schaumburg, IL: 34,053 countSchaumburg, IL34,053Evanston, IL: 33,402 countEvanston, IL33,402Arlington Heights, IL: 33,057 countArlington Heights, IL33,057Waukegan, IL: 32,183 countWaukegan, IL32,183Palatine, IL: 28,351 countPalatine, IL28,351Cicero, IL: 25,945 countCicero, IL25,945Skokie, IL: 25,419 countSkokie, IL25,419Bolingbrook, IL: 24,214 countBolingbrook, IL24,214Oak Park, IL: 24,200 countOak Park, IL24,200Des Plaines, IL: 23,961 countDes Plaines, IL23,961Orland Park, IL: 23,942 countOrland Park, IL23,942Oak Lawn, IL: 23,490 countOak Lawn, IL23,490Tinley Park, IL: 23,125 countTinley Park, IL23,125Mount Prospect, IL: 22,987 countMount Prospect, IL22,987Normal, IL: 22,139 countNormal, IL22,139Downers Grove, IL: 21,388 countDowners Grove, IL21,388Berwyn, IL: 21,281 countBerwyn, IL21,281Wheaton, IL: 20,912 countWheaton, IL20,912Belleville, IL: 20,411 countBelleville, IL20,411Moline, IL: 19,856 countMoline, IL19,856Glenview, IL: 19,499 countGlenview, IL19,499Hoffman Estates, IL: 19,304 countHoffman Estates, IL19,304Quincy, IL: 18,886 countQuincy, IL18,886Urbana, IL: 18,371 countUrbana, IL18,371Lombard, IL: 18,245 countLombard, IL18,245Rock Island, IL: 17,214 countRock Island, IL17,214Elmhurst, IL: 17,172 countElmhurst, IL17,172DeKalb, IL: 16,943 countDeKalb, IL16,943Buffalo Grove, IL: 16,487 countBuffalo Grove, IL16,487Chicago, IL: 1,252,478 countChicago, IL1,252,478Rockford, IL: 67,999 countRockford, IL67,999Aurora, IL: 63,936 countAurora, IL63,936Springfield, IL: 56,712 countSpringfield, IL56,712Naperville, IL: 55,774 countNaperville, IL55,774Peoria, IL: 54,570 countPeoria, IL54,570Joliet, IL: 52,602 countJoliet, IL52,602Champaign, IL: 40,291 countChampaign, IL40,291Elgin, IL: 39,550 countElgin, IL39,550Bloomington, IL: 36,122 countBloomington, IL36,122Decatur, IL: 36,016 countDecatur, IL36,016Schaumburg, IL: 34,053 countSchaumburg, IL34,053Evanston, IL: 33,402 countEvanston, IL33,402Arlington Heights, IL: 33,057 countArlington Heights, IL33,057Waukegan, IL: 32,183 countWaukegan, IL32,183Palatine, IL: 28,351 countPalatine, IL28,351Cicero, IL: 25,945 countCicero, IL25,945Skokie, IL: 25,419 countSkokie, IL25,419Bolingbrook, IL: 24,214 countBolingbrook, IL24,214Oak Park, IL: 24,200 countOak Park, IL24,200Des Plaines, IL: 23,961 countDes Plaines, IL23,961Orland Park, IL: 23,942 countOrland Park, IL23,942Oak Lawn, IL: 23,490 countOak Lawn, IL23,490Tinley Park, IL: 23,125 countTinley Park, IL23,125Mount Prospect, IL: 22,987 countMount Prospect, IL22,987Normal, IL: 22,139 countNormal, IL22,139Downers Grove, IL: 21,388 countDowners Grove, IL21,388Berwyn, IL: 21,281 countBerwyn, IL21,281Wheaton, IL: 20,912 countWheaton, IL20,912Belleville, IL: 20,411 countBelleville, IL20,411Moline, IL: 19,856 countMoline, IL19,856Glenview, IL: 19,499 countGlenview, IL19,499Hoffman Estates, IL: 19,304 countHoffman Estates, IL19,304Quincy, IL: 18,886 countQuincy, IL18,886Urbana, IL: 18,371 countUrbana, IL18,371Lombard, IL: 18,245 countLombard, IL18,245Rock Island, IL: 17,214 countRock Island, IL17,214Elmhurst, IL: 17,172 countElmhurst, IL17,172DeKalb, IL: 16,943 countDeKalb, IL16,943Buffalo Grove, IL: 16,487 countBuffalo Grove, IL16,487
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count
1Chicago, IL1,252,478
2Rockford, IL67,999
3Aurora, IL63,936
4Springfield, IL56,712
5Naperville, IL55,774
6Peoria, IL54,570
7Joliet, IL52,602
8Champaign, IL40,291
9Elgin, IL39,550
10Bloomington, IL36,122
11Decatur, IL36,016
12Schaumburg, IL34,053
13Evanston, IL33,402
14Arlington Heights, IL33,057
15Waukegan, IL32,183
16Palatine, IL28,351
17Cicero, IL25,945
18Skokie, IL25,419
19Bolingbrook, IL24,214
20Oak Park, IL24,200
21Des Plaines, IL23,961
22Orland Park, IL23,942
23Oak Lawn, IL23,490
24Tinley Park, IL23,125
25Mount Prospect, IL22,987
26Normal, IL22,139
27Downers Grove, IL21,388
28Berwyn, IL21,281
29Wheaton, IL20,912
30Belleville, IL20,411
31Moline, IL19,856
32Glenview, IL19,499
33Hoffman Estates, IL19,304
34Quincy, IL18,886
35Urbana, IL18,371
36Lombard, IL18,245
37Rock Island, IL17,214
38Elmhurst, IL17,172
39DeKalb, IL16,943
40Buffalo Grove, IL16,487
41Calumet City, IL16,349
42Park Ridge, IL16,273
43Wheeling, IL16,004
44Pekin, IL15,098
45Crystal Lake, IL15,053
46Northbrook, IL14,945
47Carol Stream, IL14,601
48Galesburg, IL14,499
49Bartlett, IL14,353
50Danville, IL13,905
51Plainfield, IL13,802
52St. Charles, IL13,663
53Woodridge, IL13,573
54Streamwood, IL13,346
55Elk Grove Village, IL13,251
56Addison, IL13,059
57Granite City, IL12,958
58Alton, IL12,836
59Carbondale, IL12,757
60Romeoville, IL12,682
61O'Fallon, IL12,637
62Highland Park, IL12,608
63Niles, IL12,269
64Lansing, IL12,120
65Gurnee, IL12,118
65Huntley, IL12,118
67Freeport, IL12,041
68Glendale Heights, IL11,971
69Oswego, IL11,816
70Carpentersville, IL11,736
71Mundelein, IL11,629
72Hanover Park, IL11,588
73Glen Ellyn, IL11,465
74Collinsville, IL11,400
75Kankakee, IL11,334
76Algonquin, IL11,305
77McHenry, IL11,273
78Westmont, IL11,268
79Vernon Hills, IL11,029
80Wilmette, IL10,878
81Chicago Heights, IL10,764
82East St. Louis, IL10,728
83East Peoria, IL10,697
84Lisle, IL10,566
85Oak Forest, IL10,487
86Loves Park, IL10,409
87Woodstock, IL10,229
88Batavia, IL10,180
89Lake in the Hills, IL10,082
90Morton Grove, IL10,033
91Elmwood Park, IL9,945
92Burbank, IL9,908
93Harvey, IL9,792
94Belvidere, IL9,712
95Lockport, IL9,580
96Rolling Meadows, IL9,556
97New Lenox, IL9,361
98Bloomingdale, IL9,355
99Zion, IL9,321
100Edwardsville, IL9,280
101Blue Island, IL9,209
102Machesney Park, IL9,050
103Darien, IL9,036
104Maywood, IL9,030
105Roselle, IL8,983
106Park Forest, IL8,933
107Marion, IL8,917
108Mattoon, IL8,896
109Dolton, IL8,865
110East Moline, IL8,790
111Villa Park, IL8,780
112Round Lake Beach, IL8,753
113Ottawa, IL8,742
114North Chicago, IL8,721
115Melrose Park, IL8,578
116Charleston, IL8,515
117Homer Glen, IL8,361
118Geneva, IL8,265
119South Elgin, IL8,209
120Grayslake, IL8,149
121Fairview Heights, IL8,144
121Palos Hills, IL8,144
123Godfrey, IL8,087
124Brookfield, IL8,036
125Alsip, IL7,997
126West Chicago, IL7,918
127Jacksonville, IL7,880
128Crest Hill, IL7,871
129South Holland, IL7,826
130Matteson, IL7,768
131Evergreen Park, IL7,762
132Libertyville, IL7,715
133Homewood, IL7,704
134Lake Forest, IL7,662
135Sycamore, IL7,633
136Macomb, IL7,619
137Forest Park, IL7,608
138Deerfield, IL7,601
139Morton, IL7,554
140Mokena, IL7,441
141Lake Zurich, IL7,414
142Mount Vernon, IL7,335
143Sterling, IL7,221
144Bensenville, IL7,131
145Yorkville, IL7,125
146North Aurora, IL7,124
147Westchester, IL7,055
148Frankfort, IL6,699
149Shorewood, IL6,679
150Montgomery, IL6,653
151Bourbonnais, IL6,558
152Dixon, IL6,484
153Prospect Heights, IL6,437
154Bellwood, IL6,434
155Franklin Park, IL6,432
156Cary, IL6,408
157Washington, IL6,384
158Bradley, IL6,372
159Bridgeview, IL6,364
160Lemont, IL6,329
161Round Lake, IL6,324
162Morris, IL6,297
163Lincoln, IL6,254
164Norridge, IL6,189
165Country Club Hills, IL6,164
166Streator, IL6,142
167Hinsdale, IL6,094
168Swansea, IL6,045
169Herrin, IL6,044
170Canton, IL6,024
171Rantoul, IL6,015
172La Grange, IL5,949
173Chicago Ridge, IL5,932
174Shiloh, IL5,900
175Glen Carbon, IL5,884
176Midlothian, IL5,847
177Kewanee, IL5,831
178Centralia, IL5,806
179Antioch, IL5,670
180La Grange Park, IL5,614
181Effingham, IL5,564
182Fox Lake, IL5,553
183Taylorville, IL5,538
184Chatham, IL5,495
185Hazel Crest, IL5,457
186Warrenville, IL5,410
187Hickory Hills, IL5,400
188Wauconda, IL5,386
189Wood Dale, IL5,384
190Richton Park, IL5,376
191Riverdale, IL5,295
192Crestwood, IL5,256
193Lincolnwood, IL5,247
194Lindenhurst, IL5,146
195Justice, IL5,100
196Pontiac, IL4,938
197Wood River, IL4,903
198Burr Ridge, IL4,871
199Palos Heights, IL4,741
200Winnetka, IL4,740
201Beach Park, IL4,723
202River Forest, IL4,699
203Northlake, IL4,697
204Worth, IL4,670
205Western Springs, IL4,669
206Highland, IL4,667
207Waterloo, IL4,625
208Schiller Park, IL4,580
209Columbia, IL4,527
210Channahon, IL4,387
211Barrington, IL4,370
212Troy, IL4,336
213Lyons, IL4,271
214Markham, IL4,131
215River Grove, IL4,126
216Roscoe, IL4,049
217Plano, IL4,021
218Minooka, IL4,015
219Winfield, IL3,993
220Summit, IL3,741
221Campton Hills, IL3,569
222Mahomet, IL3,508
223Pingree Grove, IL3,313
224Manhattan, IL3,209

Other periods

About this ranking

All housing units, occupied and vacant: houses, apartments, mobile homes and rooms intended as separate living quarters. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

A survey estimate averaged over five years, not a count on one date.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2021 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by housing units, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/illinois-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing units?

Chicago, IL, with 1.25 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing units?

Manhattan, IL, with 3,209 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Housing units: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings