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Riverdale, Illinois
Pacesetter Gardens Historic District
Pacesetter Gardens Historic District
Official seal of Riverdale, Illinois
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The Dale
Motto(s): 
"A Village with a Vision"
Location of Riverdale in Cook County, Illinois.
Location of Riverdale in Cook County, Illinois.
Riverdale, Illinois is located in Greater Chicago
Riverdale, Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois
Location in Greater Chicago
Riverdale, Illinois is located in Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois
Location in Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois is located in the United States
Riverdale, Illinois
Riverdale, Illinois
Location in the United States
Country  United States
State Illinois
County Cook
Townships Thornton, Calumet
Area
 • Total 3.75 sq mi (9.71 km2)
 • Land 3.58 sq mi (9.26 km2)
 • Water 0.17 sq mi (0.45 km2)  4.80%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 10,663
 • Density 2,982.66/sq mi (1,151.51/km2)
Demonym(s) Riverdalian
Standard of living (2007-11)
 • Per capita income $16,463
 • Median home value $101,300
Time zone Central Standard Time
 • Summer (DST) Central Daylight Time
ZIP code(s)
60827
Area code(s) 708
Geocode 64278
FIPS code 17-64278

Riverdale is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,663 at the 2020 census. The village shares its name with the bordering Riverdale neighborhood in Chicago.

History

Charles Pope Beet Sugar Works
Image of the Charles Pope Beet Sugar Works on the Calumet River in Riverdale (1910)

The Village of Riverdale was incorporated in 1893. In 1904 the Englishman and former Chicago glucose manufacturer Charles Pope (1843-1922) purchased property in Riverdale at what is today the west side of Indiana Avenue with the intention of establishing a beet sugar factory. The property was previously occupied by The Riverdale Distillery, which had been established by the Union Copper Distilling Company of Chicago in 1871 to manufacture fermentum yeast. Located on the south bank of the Little Calumet river with access to the Illinois Central tracks, the beet sugar factory opened in 1905 with a capacity of 350 tons of beet sugar per day, a production rate that was eventually increased to 500 tons per day. The factory was sold by Pope's heirs in 1922 to the Midwest Sugar Refining Company, who added sugar to the product line that was produced from cane supplied from Cuba and Puerto Rico. and who the following year began a program that was intended "to expand this enterprise far beyond its present capacity so as to make the company one of the leading producers and refiners of sugar in the Middle West." In 1947 this enterprise was replaced by The Chromium Mining and Smelting Corporation.

Geography

Riverdale is located at 41°38′26″N 87°37′50″W / 41.64056°N 87.63056°W / 41.64056; -87.63056 (41.640684, -87.630645). According to the 2010 census, Riverdale has a total area of 3.745 square miles (9.70 km2), of which 3.57 square miles (9.25 km2) (or 95.33%) is land and 0.175 square miles (0.45 km2) (or 4.67%) is water.

Surrounding areas

  Chicago
  Calumet Park Up arrow left.svg Up-1.svg Up arrow right.svg Chicago
  Blue Island Left.svg  Right.svg Dolton
  Dixmoor Down arrow left.svg Down arrow.svg Down arrow right.svg Dolton
  Harvey / Dolton

Transportation

Riverdale is home to two stations on the Metra Electric District's main line; Ivanhoe station at 144th Street and Riverdale station at 137th Street.

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes in the village connecting Riverdale to destinations across the Southland.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 450
1900 558
1910 917 64.3%
1920 1,166 27.2%
1930 2,504 114.8%
1940 2,865 14.4%
1950 5,840 103.8%
1960 12,008 105.6%
1970 15,806 31.6%
1980 13,233 −16.3%
1990 13,671 3.3%
2000 15,055 10.1%
2010 13,549 −10.0%
2020 10,663 −21.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
2010 2020

As of the 2020 census there were 10,663 people, 4,472 households, and 2,726 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,843.47 inhabitants per square mile (1,097.87/km2). There were 5,087 housing units at an average density of 1,356.53 per square mile (523.76/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 3.17% White, 92.20% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.73% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.19% of the population.

There were 4,472 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.91% were married couples living together, 34.44% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.04% were non-families. 33.09% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.74% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.73 and the average family size was 2.79.

The village's age distribution consisted of 31.4% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,355, and the median income for a family was $42,632. Males had a median income of $36,231 versus $30,861 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,987. About 27.2% of families and 28.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

Riverdale village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000 Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 1,539 511 301 10.22% 3.77% 2.82%
Black or African American alone (NH) 12,942 12,610 9,791 85.96% 93.07% 91.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 24 24 11 0.16% 0.18% 0.10%
Asian alone (NH) 29 13 13 0.19% 0.10% 0.12%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 0 7 0.00% 0.00% 0.07%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 18 11 40 0.12% 0.08% 0.38%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) 137 143 160 0.91% 1.06% 1.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 366 237 340 2.43% 1.75% 3.19%
Total 15,055 13,549 10,663 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Riverdale (Illinois) para niños

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