Ethnic groups in Chicago facts for kids

Chicago is a city with a rich history of many different ethnic groups. Over time, people from all over the world have moved here. This has made Chicago a very diverse place today. These groups have helped build the city. They have also sometimes faced challenges.

Chicago's Diverse Population Today

Chicago is a very large city in the United States. In 2010, almost 2.7 million people lived there. More than half of all people in Illinois live in the Chicago area. This makes Chicago one of the most crowded big cities in the U.S.

The city's population is made up of many different groups:

• 45% White people.
• 32.9% Black or African American people.
• 13.4% from other races.
• 5.5% Asian people. This includes Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Korean, Pakistani, Vietnamese, and Japanese people.
• 2.7% from two or more races.
• 0.5% Native American people.

Chicago also has a large Hispanic or Latino population, making up 28.9% of residents. People in this group can be of any race. The largest Hispanic groups are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Ecuadorian, Cuban, Colombian, Honduran, Salvadoran, and Peruvian. The number of Guatemalan and Peruvian people has grown a lot recently.

Meet Chicago's Ethnic Groups

Chicago is home to people from almost every corner of the world. Each group brings its own culture, traditions, and history to the city.

Black and African American Communities

Chicago has a large and important Black and African American population. Many different groups from Africa and the Caribbean live here.

African Communities in Chicago

Many people from different African countries have chosen Chicago as their home.

• More than 30,000 Nigerians live in Chicago. They are the largest African community in the city.
• Many Tanzanians have settled in Chicago since 1986. A lot of them are students or professionals. They come to study or work.
• There are also communities of Ethiopians, Ghanaians, Kenyans, South Africans, Ivorians, Senegalese, Angolans, Somalis, Cameroonians, Togolese, Eritreans, Zimbabweans, Malians, Sierra Leoneans, Sudanese, Zambians, Gambians, and Guineans.

Haitian and Jamaican Communities

• About 10,000 to 22,000 Haitians live in the Chicago area.
• There is also a Jamaican community in Chicago.

Hispanic and Latino American Communities

Almost two million Hispanic people live in the Chicago area. This makes it the third largest Hispanic community in the United States. This group is growing fast. They are becoming very important in the city's economy and politics.

Mexican and Puerto Rican Roots

• Mexicans make up the largest part of Chicago's Hispanic population.
• Puerto Ricans are the second largest group.

Other Latin American Groups

Chicago is home to many other Latin American communities:

• Cubans first came to Chicago in the 1950s.
• A small group of Dominicans live in the Humboldt Park area.
• Ecuadorians are one of the largest Latin American groups. They have been in Chicago since the mid-1900s.
• Chicago has a significant Guatemalan population.
• Salvadorans live mostly in North Side neighborhoods like Rogers Park.
• There is a Honduran community in South Chicago.
• Colombian, Argentine, Peruvian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Bolivian, Paraguayan, Costa Rican, Uruguayan, and Chilean communities also live in Chicago.

Brazilian Community

There is a Brazilian community in Chicago.

White American Communities

Chicago has one of the largest populations of people from Central and Eastern Europe. Many people from Slavic countries live here.

European Heritage in Chicago

• Poles are the largest group among Central and Eastern Europeans. Polish is the second most spoken foreign language in Chicago, after Spanish.
• About 20,000 Albanians live in Chicago.
• Chicago has the largest Bosnian population outside of Europe.
• It also has the largest Bulgarian immigrant population in the world, with around 20,000 Bulgarians.
• There are Croatian, Czech, English, French, French Canadian, German, and Italian communities.
• Around 150,000 Greeks live in Chicago. Some Greek schools teach about Greek history and language.
• The English have been in Chicago since the early 1800s.
• Jewish Americans have a long history in Chicago.
• About 4,000 Latvians live in Chicago. They started arriving in the late 1800s.
• There are also Lithuanian, Swedish, and Welsh communities.

Middle Eastern Communities

• Chicago is home to the largest Assyrian population in the United States. In 2000, about 15,683 Assyrians lived here. They settled in areas like Albany Park. The first Assyrian church opened in Chicago in 1917.
• As of 2006, about 8,500 Arabs live in the Chicago area. Most of them are Palestinian. Areas like Chicago Lawn and Albany Park have many Palestinian residents. Many Arabs came to Chicago after conflicts in the Middle East.
• The Chicago area has the largest Palestinian American population in the U.S. Many Palestinians in Chicago come from Beitunia in the West Bank.
• People from Ottoman Syria (including modern-day Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria) moved to Chicago in the late 1800s. They often started as street sellers.
• There are also Moroccan, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Algerian communities in Chicago.

Other White Ethnic Groups

• As of 2006, there were about 25,000 Iranians in the Chicago area. This includes Persians, Kurds, Turks, Azeris, and Lurs. Many Iranians live in Uptown.
• Israelis started coming to Chicago in the 1970s.
• British people have also moved to Chicago, especially after Dyson's US headquarters opened there.
• Other European groups include Slovaks, Macedonians, Estonians, Slovenes, Dutch, Spaniards, Norwegians, Belgians, Portuguese, Luxembourgers, Cypriots, Danish, Georgians, Icelanders, and Finns.
• Hungarians and Romanians also have communities in Chicago.

Asian American Communities

Asian Americans are a growing part of Chicago's population. In 2011, they made up 12.7% of the population in some northwestern Chicago suburbs.

East Asian Communities

• Chicago has a large Chinese community.
• About 5,500 Japanese people live in Chicago. Many live in North Side lakefront areas.
• As of 2000, about 45,000 South Korean people lived in the Chicago area. Many Koreans have moved to northern suburbs like Glenview and Niles.

Southeast Asian Communities

• Filipinos are the fourth largest immigrant group in Chicago. In 2000, about 81,000 Filipinos lived in the Chicago area. Many work in the medical field. The first Filipinos arrived in the 1920s.
• Most Southeast Asians in Chicago are Vietnamese. There is a Vietnamese neighborhood near Argyle Street in Uptown.
• Several thousand Cambodians live in Chicago. Many arrived in the late 1970s after the Khmer Rouge killings.
• There are also smaller communities of Laotians and Indonesians.
• About 10,000 people of Thai origin live in Chicago and its suburbs. Many work in healthcare. There are also Thai Buddhist temples and restaurants.

South Asian Communities

• As of 2006, about 114,000 people of Indian origin live in the Chicago area. There are also many Pakistanis and a growing Bangladeshi population. Together, they make up a large part of the Asian American community.
• The main business area for Indian and Pakistani businesses is along Devon Avenue.
• Many Indians and Pakistanis came to Chicago after 1965. Many started as professionals.
• These groups have their own religious and social places. Most Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are Muslim. Most Indians are Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh.

Other Asian Groups

• Romani people first came to Chicago in the late 1800s.
• There are also Hmong, Mongolian, Malaysian, Afghan, Nepalese, Burmese, Singaporean, Tibetan, and Taiwanese communities in Chicago.

Native American Communities

As of 2018, over 65,000 people in the Chicago area have Native American ancestry. They come from about 175 different tribes. This makes Chicago one of the largest Native American urban areas.

The American Indian Center (AIC) in Albany Park helps Native Americans adjust to city life. Before Chicago was built, Algonquin, Miami, and other tribes lived in the area. Most were moved away in the 1830s. However, some Native Americans came back to Chicago in the 1950s.

Other Communities

Chicago also has communities from:

• Australia
• Barbados
• Belize
• New Zealand
• Pacific Islands
• Canada
• Guyana