county

Kankakee County, IL

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

AI Overview

Kankakee County has a population of 106,833 and has seen a 5.1% unemployment rate alongside a 3.8% population decline over five years, signaling a contracting labor market with roughly 61.5% labor force participation. The workforce skews toward lower educational attainment, with only 20.4% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings of $40,892, though GDP per capita of $61,433 suggests meaningful output per resident. Housing costs remain relatively accessible, with a median home value of $185,700 and median gross rent of $1,075/month, and a 69.9% homeownership rate points to an established residential base.

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

Population

106,410

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$71,281

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone78,270 (73.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone15,265 (14.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,817 (4.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone3,688 (3.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,041 (2.9%)
  • Asian Alone1,067 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish9,112
  2. 2.Other Indo-European295
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)287
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)206
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic187

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

5,358

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$61,433

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,005

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance12,632
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)7,083
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)6,493
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,347
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities3,958

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations15,806
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations10,613
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations10,464
  4. 4.Service Occupations8,879
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations4,388

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.40×)6,945
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.31×)3,839
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.17×)6,389
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.17×)1,350
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.12×)13,073

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$185,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,075/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9994,254 (14.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9993,830 (13.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9993,380 (11.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9993,238 (11.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9992,337 (8.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9992,045 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,892

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone38,347 (78.3%)
  • Carpooled4,071 (8.3%)
  • Worked At Home3,956 (8.1%)
  • Walked1,448 (3.0%)
  • Other603 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit494 (1.0%)

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.