The 10 Illinois Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Illinois have the largest African American population.

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The Black community is one of the fastest growing communities in America this decade.

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Illinois is 1,773,138 - at 13.8% of the total population of Illinois.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census's race and ethnicity definition. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted Illinois? Which cities and towns in Illinois have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Illinois with the largest African American population in 2023:

  1. East St. Louis
  2. Dolton
  3. Country Club Hills
  4. Riverdale
  5. Hazel Crest
  6. Richton Park
  7. Calumet Park
  8. University Park
  9. Matteson
  10. South Holland

What's the blackest city in Illinois? East St. Louis took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Illinois for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where Illinois ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Illinois or the most diverse places in Illinois.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Illinois For 2023

1. East St. Louis

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 19,437
% African American: 95.17%
# Of African American Residents: 18,498
Percent Change Since 2010: -31.66%
More on East St. Louis: Real Estate | Data | Photos

East St. Louis, IL

2. Dolton

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 21,588
% African American: 91.9%
# Of African American Residents: 19,839
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.78%
More on Dolton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Dolton, IL

3. Country Club Hills

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 16,746
% African American: 87.7%
# Of African American Residents: 14,686
Percent Change Since 2010: 3.97%
More on Country Club Hills: Real Estate | Data

4. Riverdale

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 10,909
% African American: 87.56%
# Of African American Residents: 9,552
Percent Change Since 2010: -25.4%
More on Riverdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Riverdale, IL

5. Hazel Crest

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 13,727
% African American: 87.32%
# Of African American Residents: 11,987
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.18%
More on Hazel Crest: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hazel Crest, IL

6. Richton Park

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 12,867
% African American: 87.13%
# Of African American Residents: 11,211
Percent Change Since 2010: 8.76%
More on Richton Park: Real Estate | Data

7. Calumet Park

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,167
% African American: 86.42%
# Of African American Residents: 6,194
Percent Change Since 2010: -4.55%
More on Calumet Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Calumet Park, IL

8. University Park

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,239
% African American: 82.3%
# Of African American Residents: 5,958
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.2%
More on University Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos

9. Matteson

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 19,047
% African American: 81.94%
# Of African American Residents: 15,607
Percent Change Since 2010: 13.37%
More on Matteson: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Matteson, IL

Source: Public domain

10. South Holland

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 21,524
% African American: 80.9%
# Of African American Residents: 17,413
Percent Change Since 2010: 4.91%
More on South Holland: Real Estate | Data | Photos

South Holland, IL

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Illinois With The Largest Black Population For 2023

We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Illinois.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 326 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 95.2% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. East St. Louis took the distinction of being the most Black, while Elburn was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Illinois ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across Illinois

If you're looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Illinois according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the least African American places in Illinois:

  1. Elburn
  2. Lake Bluff
  3. Spring Grove

For more Illinois reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Illinois

Rank City % African American Population
1 East St. Louis 95.17% 19,437
2 Dolton 91.9% 21,588
3 Country Club Hills 87.7% 16,746
4 Riverdale 87.56% 10,909
5 Hazel Crest 87.32% 13,727
6 Richton Park 87.13% 12,867
7 Calumet Park 86.42% 7,167
8 University Park 82.3% 7,239
9 Matteson 81.94% 19,047
10 South Holland 80.9% 21,524
11 Calumet City 75.87% 36,065
12 Markham 75.11% 11,733
13 Lynwood 72.2% 9,095
14 Broadview 70.86% 7,997
15 Bellwood 70.48% 18,778
16 Glenwood 68.87% 8,590
17 Park Forest 68.8% 21,368
18 Sauk Village 64.47% 9,981
19 Harvey 64.4% 20,751
20 Flossmoor 64.07% 9,868
21 Cahokia 63.22% 12,440
22 Maywood 60.54% 23,547
23 Homewood 47.78% 19,716
24 Lansing 44.82% 28,916
25 Hillside 43.77% 8,286
26 Kankakee 39.65% 24,903
27 Chicago Heights 39.16% 27,840
28 Danville 33.78% 29,534
29 Fairview Heights 33.59% 16,601
30 Crete 31.63% 8,425
31 Blue Island 31.39% 22,934
32 Belleville 31.26% 42,463
33 Chicago 28.76% 2,742,119
34 Forest Park 27.93% 14,297
35 Chester 27.61% 7,787
36 Carbondale 27.39% 22,388
37 Pinckneyville 27.14% 5,262
38 Peoria 26.67% 113,672
39 Berkeley 26.16% 5,314
40 Zion 25.9% 24,660
41 Alton 25.14% 25,902
42 North Chicago 24.79% 30,619
43 Evergreen Park 24.5% 19,884
44 Shiloh 24.31% 13,638
45 Alsip 23.47% 19,036
46 Justice 23.04% 12,625
47 Decatur 22.95% 71,309
48 Crest Hill 22.05% 20,305
49 Westchester 21.77% 16,837
50 Swansea 21.25% 15,037
51 Rockford 21.0% 148,942
52 Springfield 19.92% 114,672
53 Rantoul 18.79% 12,766
54 Waukegan 18.45% 89,751
55 Bolingbrook 18.35% 73,807
56 Oak Park 18.21% 54,100
57 Champaign 17.7% 88,343
58 Rock Island 17.09% 37,519
59 East Moline 17.07% 21,181
60 Joliet 16.8% 150,323
61 Urbana 16.75% 39,189
62 Greenville 16.7% 6,676
63 Mount Vernon 16.44% 14,614
64 Freeport 16.34% 24,087
65 Evanston 15.76% 78,454
66 Collinsville 15.43% 24,627
67 Murphysboro 15.13% 7,270
68 Hillsboro 14.64% 6,633
69 Dekalb 14.53% 41,083
70 Vandalia 13.92% 6,459
71 Galesburg 13.44% 30,298
72 O'fallon 13.2% 31,963
73 Robinson 12.82% 7,264
74 Normal 11.84% 53,446
75 Woodridge 11.78% 34,161
76 Steger 11.76% 9,568
77 Beach Park 11.74% 13,634
78 Glendale Heights 11.34% 33,443
79 Romeoville 11.12% 40,099
80 Dixon 10.63% 15,855
81 Aurora 10.49% 183,447
82 Posen 10.45% 5,752
83 Bourbonnais 10.42% 18,959
84 Granite City 10.14% 27,336
85 Yorkville 10.05% 20,503
86 Jacksonville 9.77% 18,114
87 Bloomington 9.32% 78,372
88 North Riverside 8.81% 7,382
89 Moline 8.76% 42,660
90 Centralia 8.75% 12,061
91 Frankfort 8.66% 20,040
92 Summit 8.64% 11,098
93 Park City 8.63% 7,876
94 Edwardsville 8.61% 25,236
95 Pontiac 8.53% 11,766
96 Pontoon Beach 8.48% 6,153
97 Skokie 8.44% 67,444
98 Crestwood 8.43% 10,908
99 Macomb 8.31% 15,681
100 Plainfield 8.26% 44,296

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Illinois with the largest African American population.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.