DuPage County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids DuPage County
County
Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve on the West Branch of the DuPage River; Restored tallgrass prairie in Dunham Forest Preserve
Seal
Motto(s):  The Magnificent Miles West of Chicago
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	February 9, 1839
Named for	DuPage River
Seat	Wheaton
Largest city	Aurora
Area
• Total	336 sq mi (870 km2)
• Land	327 sq mi (850 km2)
• Water	8.9 sq mi (23 km2)  2.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	932,877
• Density	2,800/sq mi (1,100/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	630 and 331
Congressional districts	3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th

DuPage County (/duːˈpeɪdʒ/ DOO-payj) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is Wheaton.

Known for its vast tallgrass prairies, DuPage County has become mostly developed and suburbanized, although some pockets of farmland remain in the county's western and northern parts. Located in the Rust Belt, the area is one of few in the region whose economy quickly became dependent on the headquarters of several large corporations due to its close proximity to Chicago. As quarries closed in the 1990s, land that was formerly used for mining and plants was converted into mixed-use, master-planned developments to meet the growing tax base. The county has a mixed socioeconomic profile and residents of Hinsdale, Naperville and Oak Brook include some of the wealthiest people in the Midwest. On the whole, the county enjoys above average median household income levels and low overall poverty levels when compared to the national average. In 2023, Niche ranked four DuPage municipalities (Clarendon Hills at #125, Naperville at #130, Hinsdale at #166, and Lisle at #280) amongst the best places to live in America.

History

Prior to European-American settlement, the area that is now DuPage County was inhabited by the Potawatomi people. By 1800, the Potawatomi had established 4 major villages along local rivers within the county, and had a network of trails crisscrossing the area. The first European-American settlers arrived in what is now DuPage County in 1832, and the Potawatomi population was forced out of the region only one year later after ceding their land in the Treaty of Chicago. DuPage County was officially formed on February 9, 1839, out of Cook County. The county took its name from the DuPage River, which was, in turn, named after a French fur trapper, DuPage. The first written history to address the name, the 1882 History of DuPage County, Illinois, by Rufus Blanchard, relates:

The DuPage River had, from time immemorial, been a stream well known. It took its name from a French trader who settled on this stream below the fork previous to 1800. Hon. H. W. Blodgett, of Waukegan, informs the writer that J. B. Beaubien had often spoken to him of the old Frenchman, Du Page, whose station was on the bank of the river, down toward its mouth, and stated that the river took its name from him. The county name must have the same origin. Col Gurden S. Hubbard, who came into the country in 1818, informs the writer that the name DuPage, as applied to the river then, was universally known, but the trader for whom it was named lived there before his time. Mr. Beaubien says it is pronounced Du Pazhe (having the sound of ah, and that the P should be capitalized). This was in reply to Mr. Blodgett's inquiry of him concerning the matter.

DuPage County at the time of its creation in 1839

The first white settler in DuPage County was Bailey Hobson who, with Lewis Stewart, built a house in 1831 for the Hobson family at a site about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of present-day downtown Naperville. Hobson later built a mill to serve surrounding farmers. Today, the Hobson house still stands on Hobson Road in Naperville, and the location of the mill is commemorated with a millstone and monument in today's Pioneer Park.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 336 square miles (870 km²), of which 327 square miles (850 km²) is land and 8.9 square miles (23 km²) (2.6%) is water. The DuPage River and the Salt Creek flow through DuPage County. According to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, the highest point in the county is located at the Mallard Lake Landfill, which at its highest point is 982 feet (299 m) above mean sea level.

Climate

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Wheaton have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1995. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.56 inches (40 mm) in February to 4.60 inches (117 mm) in August.

Adjacent counties

Counties that are adjacent to DuPage include:

• Cook County (east and north)
• Will County (south)
• Kendall County (southwest; counties meet at a corner)
• Kane County (west)

Demographics

2020 Census

DuPage County's population's distribution by race and ethnicity in the 2020 census was as follows:

2022 American Community Survey

The largest European ancestries reported among DuPage County residents in the 2022 American Community Survey are German (147,639 people or 16% of the population), Irish (112,329 people, 12.2%), Polish (89,682, 9.7%), Italian (82,745, 9%), and English (62,404, 6.8%). The largest Hispanic group in the county is Mexican-Americans, numbering 106,907 people and making up 11.6% of the county's population and over 70% of the total Hispanic population. The most common Asian ancestries in the county are Indian (59,305, or 6.4% of the total population), Filipino (20,141, 2.2%), Chinese (17,031, 1.8%), and Pakistani (11,046, 1.2%).

DuPage County has become more diverse. The population of foreign-born residents increased from about 71,300 in 1990 to 184,000 by 2022 estimates. Of the 20% of residents who were born abroad, 45.2% were born in Asia, 25.8% were born in Latin America, 24.3% were born in Europe, 3.5% were born in Africa, 3.1% were born in South America, 0.2% were born in Oceania, and 1.1% were born in Canada. The top countries of birth for immigrants in DuPage County are Mexico (36,146), India (35,486), Poland (14,107), the Philippines (11,352), and China (10,116).

The per-capita income in DuPage County is $88,588, according to 2022 data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is the second highest of any county in Illinois, surpassed only by Lake County, located in the northern suburbs of Chicago. As of 2022, DuPage County has a poverty rate of 6.7%, much lower than the national and state average. 8% of children under 18 and 6% of seniors in the county are in poverty.

2010 Census

There were 325,601 households, out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.90% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.00% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64 and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females, age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $98,441 and the median income for a family was $113,086. Males had a median income of $60,909 versus $41,346 for females. The mean or average income for a family in DuPage County is $121,009, according to the 2005 census. The per capita income for the county was $38,458. About 2.40% of families and 3.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.90% of those under age 18 and 4.30% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

The First Church of Lombard is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

DuPage County has several hundred Christian churches, and especially around Wheaton is a Bible Belt, with Wheaton College and various other evangelical Christian colleges, and publishing houses including InterVarsity Press, Crossway, Tyndale House, Christianity Today and other smaller ones in the area. Well-known churches include the Community Christian Church of Naperville, College Church of Wheaton, Wheaton Bible Church, and First Baptist Church of Wheaton. There is also a large Catholic population, the county being part of the Diocese of Joliet and the National Shrine of St Therese in Darien. There is also the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Glendale Heights.

The Theosophical Society in America in Wheaton, the North American headquarters of the Theosophical Society Adyar, provides lectures and classes on theosophy, meditation, yoga, Eastern and New Age spirituality. Islamic mosques are located in Villa Park, Naperville (two mosques), Glendale Heights, Willowbrook, Westmont, Lombard, Bolingbrook, Addison, Woodale, West Chicago, and unincorporated Glen Ellyn. There are Hindu temples in Bartlett, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Itasca and Medinah, and an Arya Samaj center in West Chicago. There is a Nichiren Shōshū Zen Buddhist temple in West Chicago and a Theravada Buddhist Temple, called the Buddha-Dharma Meditation Center, in Willowbrook. There is also a Reform synagogue, Congregation Etz Chaim, in Lombard and an unaffiliated one in Naperville, called Congregation Beth Shalom.

Economy

DuPage County is the primary location of the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. It is home to many large corporations, including:

Shopping malls in DuPage County include Oakbrook Center, which is the largest open-air mall in the nation, Fox Valley Mall, Yorktown Center, Town Square Wheaton, and Stratford Square Mall. In addition, many of DuPage County's towns have prosperous and quaint downtown areas, especially in Naperville, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Downers Grove and Hinsdale, which are mixed with boutiques, upscale chain stores and restaurants.

National Laboratories

Aerial view of the Tevatron particle accelerator at the Fermilab site

Fermilab, which has the world's second-highest-energy particle accelerator, is in Batavia, where it straddles the border between Kane and DuPage counties.

Argonne National Laboratory, one of the United States government's oldest and largest science and engineering research laboratories, is in unincorporated, southeast DuPage County. Both laboratories conduct tours of their facilities.

Arts and culture

Architecture

The 31-story Oakbrook Terrace Tower in Oakbrook Terrace, designed by Helmut Jahn, is the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago. The Elmhurst Art Museum is housed in a Mies Van Der Rohe building. There is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Elmhurst. Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a conservative Hindu sect, has built BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago, a large, intricately carved, marble temple in Bartlett. There are some Sears Catalog Homes in Downers Grove and Villa Park. The Byzantine-style clubhouse of the Medinah Country Club is also an architectural highlight of the county. Lombard is home to over thirty Lustron prefabricated steel homes.

Museums and historical sites

Graue Mill

Historical museums in DuPage County include:

• Cantigny Park and First Division Museum, on the former estate of Chicago Tribune magnate Robert R. McCormick (Wheaton)
• Downers Grove Museum (Downers Grove)
• DuPage County Historical Museum, formerly the Adams Memorial Library (Wheaton)
• Graue Mill (Oak Brook)
• Gregg House Museum (Westmont)
• Itasca Historical Depot Museum (Itasca)
• Kline Creek Farm (West Chicago)
• Mayslake Peabody Estate (Oak Brook)
• The Museums at Lisle Station Park (Lisle)
• Naper Settlement (Naperville)
• Villa Park Historical Society Museum (Villa Park)
• West Chicago's City Museum (West Chicago)

Specialty museums in DuPage County include:

• Cleve Carney Museum of Art (Glen Ellyn)
• DuPage Children's Museum (Naperville)
• Elmhurst Art Museum, which includes Mies Van Der Rohe's McCormick House (Elmhurst)
• Wheaton College (Wheaton)
  • Billy Graham Center
  • Marion E. Wade Center

Joe Naper's General Store in Naperville

Historical sites include:

• Downtown Hinsdale Historic District
• DuPage County Courthouse (Wheaton)
• Glen Ellyn Main Street Historic District
• Joe Naper's General Store (Naperville)
• Naperville Historic District
• Old Nichols Library (Naperville)
• Pioneer Park, monument to the pioneer men and women of DuPage County and site of Bailey Hobson's mill (Naperville)
• Stacy's Tavern (Glen Ellyn)
• Wayne Village Historic District

Music and theater

DuPage also plays host to a rich local music scene. Some of the better-known bands to come out of the area include The Hush Sound, Lucky Boys Confusion, and Plain White T's.

Oakbrook Terrace's Drury Lane Theatre is an important live theatre in DuPage County. The Tivoli Theatre, one of the first theatres in the United States to be equipped with sound, is still in use in Downers Grove. In addition to showing movies, the Tivoli is home to several local performing arts groups. The McAninch Arts Center located on the Glen Ellyn campus of the College of DuPage also presents a variety of music, dance, theater and comedy year round both on its three indoor stages and its outdoor Lakeside Pavilion.

Parks and recreation

Morton Arboretum in Lisle

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County owns and manages 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) of prairies, woodlands and wetlands. More than 4 million visitors each year enjoy 60 forest preserves, 145 miles of trails, and five education centers.

Local urban parks include Lombard's Lilacia Park, Naperville's Centennial Beach, Woodridge's Cypress Cove Family Aquatic Park and Wheaton's Cosley Zoo. Privately funded attractions include Lisle's Morton Arboretum.

In the 1980s, DuPage County also had another major attraction, Ebenezer Floppen Slopper's Wonderful Water slides in Oakbrook Terrace, which today, stands abandoned and neglected.

The Illinois Prairie Path, a 61-mile (98 km) rail-to-trail multi-use path, runs through Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties. It intersects with the Great Western Trail at several points, as well as the Fox River Trail at a few points.

DuPage golf courses include: Wheaton's Chicago Golf Club, Arrowhead Golf Club and Cantigny Golf courses; the Medinah Country Club; the Village Links and Glen Oak Country Club of Glen Ellyn; Addison's Oak Meadows; Oak Brook's Oak Brook Golf Club, Butler National Golf Club, and Butterfield Country Club; Wood Dale's Maple Meadows; Westmont's Green Meadows; Lisle's River Bend (9 holes); West Chicago's St. Andrews Golf & Country Club and Winfield's Klein Creek Golf Club, among others.

Education

Colleges and universities

Blanchard Hall at Wheaton College is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The College of DuPage, in Glen Ellyn, is one of the largest community colleges in the United States. Wheaton College is one of the most well-known and respected evangelical Christian colleges in the country. Benedictine University, Elmhurst University and North Central College also have long and respected histories in their communities.

Other prominent colleges and universities include: Midwestern University and the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove; National University of Health Sciences in Lombard; Northern Seminary and National Louis University in Lisle; the Addison and Naperville campuses of DeVry University; the Naperville campus of Northern Illinois University; and the Wheaton campus of Illinois Institute of Technology.

School districts

The DuPage County Regional Office of Education provides regulatory and compliance oversight, quality services and support, and a variety of other services and information to the public schools within 42 school districts of the county that provide education to over 161,000 students in 245 schools.

The following is a list of school districts that not only includes those supported by the DuPage County Regional Office of Education, but includes others which may have schools and/or administrative headquarters outside of DuPage County but which have any territory, no matter how slight, within the county:

K-12:

• Chicago Public School District 299 - Territory at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in DuPage County boundaries
• Community Unit School District 200
• Elmhurst School District 205
• Indian Prairie School District 204
• Lisle Community Unit School District 202
• Naperville Community Unit District 203
• School District U-46
• St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
• Westmont Community Unit School District 201

Secondary:

• Community High School District 94
• Community High School District 99
• DuPage High School District 88
• Fenton Community High School District 100
• Glenbard Township High School District 87
• Hinsdale Township High School District 86
• Lake Park Community High School District 108
• Lemont Township High School District 210

Elementary:

• Addison School District 4
• Benjamin School District 25
• Bensenville School District 2
• Bloomingdale School District 13
• Butler School District 53
• Cass School District 63
• Center Cass School District 66
• Community Consolidated School District 93
• Community Consolidated School District 180
• Darien School District 61
• Downers Grove Grade School District 58
• Glen Ellyn Community Consolidated School District 89
• Glen Ellyn School District 41
• Gower School District 62
• Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181
• Itasca School District 10
• Keeneyville School District 20
• Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A
• Lombard School District 44
• Maercker School District 60
• Marquardt School District 15
• Medinah School District 11
• Queen Bee School District 16
• Roselle School District 12
• Salt Creek School District 48
• Villa Park School District 45
• West Chicago School District 33
• Winfield School District 34
• Wood Dale School District 7
• Woodridge School District 68

High schools

DuPage County is home to many public high schools, such as:

Additionally, DuPage County is home to several private high schools, including:

Infrastructure

Transportation

Aside from the part of O'Hare International Airport that is located inside the county, DuPage also has many railroads and several small airports, including DuPage Airport. DuPage is served by the Pace bus system. DuPage County is also well-covered by Metra, the Chicago-area commuter rail system. Three of Metra's eleven lines pass through the county: Milwaukee District West Line, Union Pacific West Line, and BNSF Line. Nineteen Metra stations are within DuPage County. Amtrak also serves the county at Naperville station. The Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg run from Chicago to Quincy, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles, and the California Zephyr runs from Chicago to Emeryville, California.

Major highways

DuPage County is served by five Interstate Highways, three US Highways, and nine Illinois Routes.

North–south roads (from west to east) include: IL 59 (Neltnor Boulevard), IL 53, I-355 (Veterans Memorial Tollway) and IL 83 (Kingery Highway). East–west roads (from south to north) include: I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway), US 34 (Ogden Avenue), IL 56 (Butterfield Road), IL 38 (Roosevelt Road), IL 64 (North Avenue), Army Trail Road, US 20 (Lake Street), IL 19 (Irving Park Road) and IL 390 (Elgin–O'Hare Expressway), which begins at the Thorndale Avenue exit on I-290 and ends on Lake Street, in Hanover Park. I-294 partially enters DuPage County on its eastern border between Westchester, in Cook County, and Oak Brook, in DuPage County. Only the southbound lanes enter the county though. Historic U.S. Route 66 crosses through the southeast portion of the county near Darien and Willowbrook.

Shared-use Trails

• Illinois Prairie Path
• Great Western Trail
• Salt Creek Trail
• Southern DuPage County Regional Trail

Communities

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Townships

DuPage County has nine townships as well as part of an independent city within its boundaries, their populations at the 2010 census are:

Ghost towns/Neighborhoods

See also

In Spanish: Condado de DuPage para niños