county

DeKalb County, IL

Demographic and economic profile of DeKalb County, IL, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

DeKalb County, IL has a population of 101,335 and a relatively young median age of 32.7 years, reflecting the presence of Northern Illinois University in the area. The labor force participation rate stands at 69.1%, with 32.7% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings of $34,932, and an unemployment rate of 7.1%. Housing costs remain modest—median home value of $231,900 and median gross rent of $1,041 per month—though the county has seen a population decline of 3.5% over the past five years and carries a poverty rate of 15.9%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

101,335

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$70,724

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.5% since 2018

DeKalb County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone74,678 (74.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone7,056 (7.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone5,363 (5.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,334 (5.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races5,255 (5.2%)
  • Asian Alone2,331 (2.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish7,248
  2. 2.Other Indo-European908
  3. 3.Arabic886
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic642
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)464

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

64.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

13.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

4,092

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$42,624

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,054

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance13,648
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)6,196
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)5,960
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services5,306
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services4,701

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations18,093
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations10,634
  3. 3.Service Occupations9,950
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations8,444
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations4,759

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.23×)5,634
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.16×)6,020
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.16×)14,130
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.12×)1,348
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.12×)3,411

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$231,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,041/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9994,747 (19.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9994,282 (17.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9994,126 (17.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9992,311 (9.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,174 (9.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9992,052 (8.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

69.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,932

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone37,955 (74.8%)
  • Carpooled4,861 (9.6%)
  • Worked At Home4,735 (9.3%)
  • Walked2,120 (4.2%)
  • Other389 (0.8%)
  • Public Transit381 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.