Whitest cities in Illinois research summary. We analyzed Illinois’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in Illinois based on the percentage of White residents. Here are the results of our analysis:
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The whitest city in Illinois is Pana based on the most recent Census data.
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Pana is 97.17% White.
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The least White city in Illinois is Calumet Park.
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Calumet Park is 1.42% White.
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Illinois is 60.2% White.
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Illinois is the 36th Whitest state in the United States.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Today, we are looking at the whitest places in Illinois. We won’t measure the number of Whole Foods or Pottery Barns per capita. Instead, we’ll focus on the Census data’s report of race by place in Illinois. In particular, we ranked each place in Illinois by the percentage of white people.
So where are the whitest cities you can live in Illinois?
After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in Illinois for 2023.
Here are the 10 whites places in Illinois for 2023:
What is the whitest city in Illinois for 2023? According to the most recent census data Pana ranks as the whitest. If you’re wondering, Calumet Park is the least white city of all those we measured.
Read on below to see where your hometown ranked and why. Or check out the whitest states in America and the most diverse states in America.
For more Illinois reading, check out:
The 10 Whitest Cities In Illinois For 2023
1. Pana
/10
Population: 5,304
% White: 97.17%
More on Pana: Data | Real Estate
2. Paris
/10
Population: 8,553
% White: 96.98%
More on Paris: Data | Real Estate
3. West Frankfort
/10
Population: 7,299
% White: 96.41%
More on West Frankfort: Data | Real Estate
4. Jerseyville
/10
Population: 7,674
% White: 95.71%
More on Jerseyville: Data | Real Estate
5. Litchfield
/10
Population: 6,960
% White: 95.69%
More on Litchfield: Data | Real Estate
6. Columbia
/10
Population: 11,090
% White: 95.51%
More on Columbia: Data | Real Estate
7. Waterloo
/10
Population: 10,906
% White: 95.25%
More on Waterloo: Data | Real Estate
8. Monticello
/10
Population: 6,202
% White: 95.1%
More on Monticello: Data | Real Estate
9. Taylorville
/10
Population: 11,163
% White: 94.97%
More on Taylorville: Data | Real Estate
10. Carmi
/10
Population: 5,012
% White: 94.91%
More on Carmi: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in Illinois for 2023
To rank the whitest places in Illinois, we had to determine what measurable criteria define whiteness.
We had to count how many white people living there per capita. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in Illinois.
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*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
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 percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 97.2% to 1.4%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of White population, with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Pana took the distinction of being the most White, while Calumet Park was the least White city.
We updated this article for 2023. This report represents our tenth time ranking the whitest cities in Illinois.
Read on for more information on how the cities in Illinois ranked by population of White residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.
Summary: White Populations Across Illinois
We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in Illinois. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Illinois.
If you’re curious enough, here are the least White places in Illinois:
- Calumet Park
- East St. Louis
- Riverdale
For more Illinois reading, check out:
White Population By City In Illinois
| Rank | City | % White |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pana | 97.17% |
| 2 | Paris | 96.98% |
| 3 | West Frankfort | 96.41% |
| 4 | Jerseyville | 95.71% |
| 5 | Litchfield | 95.69% |
| 6 | Columbia | 95.51% |
| 7 | Waterloo | 95.25% |
| 8 | Monticello | 95.1% |
| 9 | Taylorville | 94.97% |
| 10 | Carmi | 94.91% |
| 11 | Bethalto | 94.56% |
| 12 | Washington | 94.4% |
| 13 | Geneseo | 94.38% |
| 14 | Glencoe | 93.48% |
| 15 | Hampshire | 93.42% |
| 16 | Princeton | 93.21% |
| 17 | Bartonville | 93.19% |
| 18 | Mount Carmel | 93.14% |
| 19 | Morton | 93.08% |
| 20 | Mattoon | 92.85% |
| 21 | Salem | 92.76% |
| 22 | Chatham | 92.57% |
| 23 | Carlinville | 92.53% |
| 24 | Mount Zion | 92.27% |
| 25 | Benton | 92.23% |
| 26 | East Peoria | 92.15% |
| 27 | Olney | 91.99% |
| 28 | Mokena | 91.76% |
| 29 | Effingham | 91.45% |
| 30 | New Lenox | 91.26% |
| 31 | Braidwood | 91.23% |
| 32 | Godfrey | 91.14% |
| 33 | Western Springs | 91.14% |
| 34 | Coal City | 91.05% |
| 35 | Winnetka | 91.02% |
| 36 | Highland | 90.95% |
| 37 | Eureka | 90.88% |
| 38 | Pekin | 90.78% |
| 39 | East Alton | 90.73% |
| 40 | Clinton | 90.61% |
| 41 | Mahomet | 90.32% |
| 42 | Wood River | 90.31% |
| 43 | Manhattan | 89.93% |
| 44 | Troy | 89.87% |
| 45 | Chillicothe | 89.78% |
| 46 | Harrisburg | 89.65% |
| 47 | Manteno | 89.61% |
| 48 | Lemont | 89.13% |
| 49 | Campton Hills | 88.98% |
| 50 | Peru | 88.89% |
| 51 | Northfield | 88.81% |
| 52 | Rockton | 88.66% |
| 53 | Johnsburg | 88.17% |
| 54 | Deerfield | 88.16% |
| 55 | Wilmington | 87.97% |
| 56 | Quincy | 87.39% |
| 57 | Sandwich | 87.37% |
| 58 | Homer Glen | 87.31% |
| 59 | Du Quoin | 87.21% |
| 60 | Carterville | 87.21% |
| 61 | Palos Heights | 86.99% |
| 62 | Metropolis | 86.87% |
| 63 | Lincoln | 86.82% |
| 64 | Glen Carbon | 86.71% |
| 65 | Peoria Heights | 86.62% |
| 66 | Sycamore | 86.49% |
| 67 | Herrin | 86.22% |
| 68 | Milan | 86.2% |
| 69 | South Beloit | 85.95% |
| 70 | Marion | 85.77% |
| 71 | Channahon | 85.58% |
| 72 | Lakemoor | 85.28% |
| 73 | Spring Grove | 85.16% |
| 74 | Park Ridge | 85.08% |
| 75 | Geneva | 84.78% |
| 76 | Machesney Park | 84.63% |
| 77 | Genoa | 84.63% |
| 78 | Lake Zurich | 84.45% |
| 79 | Highland Park | 84.38% |
| 80 | Lake Bluff | 84.18% |
| 81 | Charleston | 84.09% |
| 82 | Canton | 84.07% |
| 83 | Norridge | 84.07% |
| 84 | Lockport | 84.05% |
| 85 | Cary | 84.01% |
| 86 | Maryville | 83.61% |
| 87 | Edwardsville | 83.5% |
| 88 | Libertyville | 83.45% |
| 89 | Elburn | 83.4% |
| 90 | Antioch | 83.36% |
| 91 | Roscoe | 83.28% |
| 92 | Barrington | 83.24% |
| 93 | Morris | 83.21% |
| 94 | Ottawa | 83.2% |
| 95 | Batavia | 82.95% |
| 96 | Winthrop Harbor | 82.95% |
| 97 | Winfield | 82.93% |
| 98 | Downers Grove | 82.8% |
| 99 | Fox Lake | 82.29% |
| 100 | Mascoutah | 82.09% |
Pretty humorous list, Now do a list of “blackest” cities in Illinois using a bunch of stereotypical criteria and see how that flies.
My thoughts exactly. Although, I’m still not really understanding whitest. Perhaps in the same category as white privilege? Anyhoo. More useless information from internet, silly me.
It’s quite ridiculous that you get huffy about people not agreeing with “fact based” data when you subsequently come up with a list based off of coffee house to yoga parlor ratios. I wonder what my math teacher would say about those ratios…
It is BS (Bad Sociology) to use % white in total population. The question is, what % white is the HOUSEHOLD population. The notorious Anna, still known locally as “Ain’t No N* Allowed,” has about 75 African Americans in the IL State Mental Hospital, so it does not occur on this list. The first capital of IL, Vandalia, has about 1,300 African Americans, of whom about 1,300 are males age 18-70. They are in prison! And so it goes. For serious research on white IL cities, see the book SUNDOWN TOWNS.