Good to know
Good to Know
- Chicago has been a continuous gateway for immigration from the early 20th century to present, alongside only New York, Boston, and San Francisco.
- The immigrant population is deeply embedded in the city's economy: foreign-born residents participate in labor force at similar rates to native-born population; about 35% of school-age children have at least one immigrant parent.
- Three major immigrant corridors structure the city: Latino corridor (Southwest Side, Pilsen/Little Village), Eastern European corridor (Northwest Side, with Poles as majority), and Asian communities scattered throughout with Devon Avenue as a major Indopak business hub.
- Chicago tech sector has experienced 270% growth in venture capital investment over the past decade and is the only non-coastal city performing at top-5 US startup ecosystem level.
- Tech job specializations are concentrated in fintech, cloud computing, AI, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and logistics—often leveraging Chicago's traditional strengths in finance, manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation.
- Venezuelan immigrant population saw 170% increase from 2023 to 2024, making it the second-largest increase among foreign-born groups after Mexican-born residents.
- About 66% of foreign-born Chicagoans have been in the country for more than 15 years, indicating an established immigrant community with deep roots.
City Population
- Total
- 2741640
- Metro Year
- 2026
- Year Measured
- 2025
- Rank By US City
- 3rd largest in the United States
- Metro Population
- 9109000
Foreign Born Population
- Percentage Of City
- 22
- Year Measured
- 2024
- Estimated Count
- 597415
- Note
- Foreign-born reached highest level since 2006
Business And Tech Presence
- Cost Advantage
- Developer salaries run 10-15% lower than New York or San Francisco; cost of living significantly below coastal tech hubs
Tech Workforce
- Diversity
- Approximately 26% of tech workforce is Black or Latinx; 34% of startups women-led
- Average Salary
- $106,537 per year
- Job Growth 2023
- 14% increase
- Total Tech Workers
- 150000
Ecosystem Support
- Universities
- University of Chicago, Northwestern University
- Major Incubators
- 1871, Techstars Chicago, Matter (digital health focus)
- Accelerators Coworking Spaces
- 60
Key Neighborhoods
- The Loop
- Corporate headquarters, tech startups, coworking spaces; home to 1871 tech incubator at Merchandise Mart
- River North
- Creative hub for advertising, marketing, design companies
Startup Ecosystem
- Growth Rate 2025
- 13.7%
- Unicorns
- 10
- Global Rank
- 19
- Funding 2024
- $2.4 billion+
- Total Startups
- 2671
- Note
- One of top 5 startup ecosystems in US, only non-coastal city at this performance level
Major Tech Companies
Global Giants
- Google (search, cloud, AI products)
- Salesforce (CRM, regional headquarters)
- Microsoft
- PayPal
- Accenture
- Adobe
- Dell
Major Local Companies
- Grubhub (foodtech)
- Morningstar (financial services)
- Caterpillar (manufacturing/tech)
- Avant (fintech)
- Enova (fintech)
- Chamberlain Group (smart home access)
- Toast (restaurant software)
Tech Specializations
- Fintech
- Enterprise software
- Logistics and transportation
- Healthtech/biotech
- AI and machine learning
- Cloud computing
- Cybersecurity
- Food tech
- E-commerce
Notable Nationality Groups
Mexican
- Rank
- 1
- Year
- 2024
- Count
- 227715
- Context
- Largest immigrant nationality; concentrated in Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods
Venezuelan
- Year
- 2024
- Count
- 19409
- Context
- Second-largest increase among foreign-born population (170% increase from 2023)
Polish
- Count
- 139705
- Context
- Major Eastern European group; Polish is second-most spoken foreign language after Spanish; concentrated on Northwest Side
Chinese
- Count
- 67731 (per available 2020 estimates)
- Context
- Significant Asian presence
Indian
- Count
- 117965
- Context
- Second-largest Asian group in metropolitan area
Filipino
- Count
- 80671 (per available census data)
- Context
- Significant Philippine community
Guatemalan
- Count
- 22846
- Context
- Second-largest Central American group
Ecuadorian
- Count
- 17163
- Context
- Notable South American presence
Pakistani
- Count
- ~part of Indopak business district on Devon Avenue
- Context
- Growing South Asian community
Ukrainian
- Count
- 21321
- Context
- European presence with community on Northwest Side
Nigerian
- Count
- growing presence noted
- Context
- Part of increasing African immigrant population on North Side
Immigrant Diaspora Communities
Bosnian
- Context
- Early leaders in establishment of Chicago's Muslim community; Dzemijetul Hajriye established 1906 is oldest Muslim organization in US
Albanian
- Count
- 20000
Armenian
- Count
- 10000
- Region
- Greater Chicago area
Assyrian
- Count
- 80000
- Region
- Metropolitan Chicago
- Context
- One of largest Assyrian diaspora populations
Romanian
- Count
- 100000
- Region
- Chicago area
Bulgarian
- Count
- 20000-25000
- Context
- One of largest Bulgarian immigrant populations outside Bulgaria
Ethnic And Cultural Composition
- Historical Note
- In 2016, Hispanic population exceeded Black population to become largest minority group
Racial Makeup 2020
- Asian
- 7
- Other
- 15.8
- White
- 35.9
- Multiracial
- 10.8
- Hispanic Latino
- 29.8
- Black African American
- 29.2
Regional Origin Of Foreign Born
- Asia Percent
- 24.8
- Other Percent
- 6.6
- Europe Percent
- 16.8
- Latin America Percent
- 51.8
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
- 1.census.gov
- 2.fox32chicago.com
- 3.nchstats.com
- 4.wbez.org
- 5.en.wikipedia.org
- 6.en.wikipedia.org
- 7.observablehq.com
- 8.chicagohealthatlas.org
- 9.forumtogether.org
- 10.startupproject.org
- 11.startupgenome.com
- 12.startupblink.com
- 13.digisoftsolution.com
- 14.builtinchicago.org
- 15.worldbusinesschicago.com
- 16.verityit.com
- 17.medium.com
More About Chicago
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.