2025

Counties in Illinois ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 102 counties in Illinois based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest White population in Illinois

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  • 1
    Cook County
    White population in Cook County is 2,941,769
    50.76% of Cook County population is White
  • 2
    DuPage County
    White population in DuPage County is 705,897
    69.34% of DuPage County population is White
  • 3
    Lake County
    White population in Lake County is 532,581
    66.69% of Lake County population is White
  • 4
    Will County
    White population in Will County is 518,317
    67.16% of Will County population is White
  • 5
    Kane County
    White population in Kane County is 390,899
    65.63% of Kane County population is White

List of 102 counties in Illinois by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Illinois White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Cook County 2,941,769 50.76% 32.19%
2 DuPage County 705,897 69.34% 7.73%
3 Lake County 532,581 66.69% 5.83%
4 Will County 518,317 67.16% 5.67%
5 Kane County 390,899 65.63% 4.28%
6 McHenry County 285,082 83.17% 3.12%
7 Madison County 235,716 84.32% 2.58%
8 220,245 70.82% 2.41%
9 171,969 62.66% 1.88%
10 163,815 79.52% 1.79%
11 151,381 68.08% 1.66%
12 144,808 80.08% 1.58%
13 134,655 69.76% 1.47%
14 126,603 93.95% 1.39%
15 115,662 74.40% 1.27%
16 110,815 72.09% 1.21%
17 100,474 87.21% 1.10%
18 86,124 75.69% 0.94%
19 84,935 77.49% 0.93%
20 82,364 75.91% 0.90%
21 62,737 89.06% 0.69%
22 61,714 90.61% 0.68%
23 60,813 79.58% 0.67%
24 52,785 87.88% 0.58%
25 50,028 88.31% 0.55%
26 49,001 88.04% 0.54%
27 46,134 88.57% 0.50%
28 44,555 76.04% 0.49%
29 43,856 83.85% 0.48%
30 43,718 90.12% 0.48%
31 43,534 94.63% 0.48%
32 41,213 74.00% 0.45%
33 39,263 83.01% 0.43%
34 37,720 94.88% 0.41%
35 36,981 94.45% 0.40%
36 35,054 90.89% 0.38%
37 35,009 90.66% 0.38%
38 34,289 96.12% 0.38%
39 33,703 85.64% 0.37%
40 33,654 95.75% 0.37%
41 33,499 90.52% 0.37%
42 32,233 93.16% 0.35%
43 31,785 92.64% 0.35%
44 31,570 86.87% 0.35%
45 31,165 89.17% 0.34%
46 30,239 88.26% 0.33%
47 27,002 87.01% 0.30%
48 26,990 93.38% 0.30%
49 25,907 88.54% 0.28%
50 25,191 89.34% 0.28%
51 24,617 87.39% 0.27%
52 22,336 92.09% 0.24%
53 21,310 93.20% 0.23%
54 21,020 95.29% 0.23%
55 20,569 96.61% 0.23%
56 20,317 89.66% 0.22%
57 18,832 90.43% 0.21%
58 18,748 86.93% 0.21%
59 17,604 91.00% 0.19%
60 16,999 94.75% 0.19%
61 16,650 90.80% 0.18%
62 16,388 96.37% 0.18%
63 16,321 95.45% 0.18%
64 15,693 96.08% 0.17%
65 15,336 94.02% 0.17%
66 15,328 94.85% 0.17%
67 15,188 88.94% 0.17%
68 15,148 95.97% 0.17%
69 15,032 93.66% 0.16%
70 14,724 90.77% 0.16%
71 14,661 85.18% 0.16%
72 14,318 96.15% 0.16%
73 14,201 96.11% 0.16%
74 13,876 86.21% 0.15%
75 13,488 95.69% 0.15%
76 13,487 96.15% 0.15%
77 12,987 88.48% 0.14%
78 12,984 95.47% 0.14%
79 12,889 91.71% 0.14%
80 12,677 96.07% 0.14%
81 12,207 83.56% 0.13%
82 12,060 94.95% 0.13%
83 11,649 96.02% 0.13%
84 11,494 94.00% 0.13%
85 10,985 79.18% 0.12%
86 10,885 93.80% 0.12%
87 10,343 95.84% 0.11%
88 9,172 97.15% 0.10%
89 7,819 96.09% 0.09%
90 6,425 92.29% 0.07%
91 6,169 95.20% 0.07%
92 6,054 94.73% 0.07%
93 5,379 92.93% 0.06%
94 5,184 93.39% 0.06%
95 4,973 76.14% 0.05%
96 4,794 96.15% 0.05%
97 4,708 95.73% 0.05%
98 4,349 95.12% 0.05%
99 3,555 96.13% 0.04%
100 3,495 89.92% 0.04%
101 3,419 64.41% 0.04%
102 3,370 64.30% 0.04%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Illinois by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total Illinois White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.