Census: Evanston Is Younger, Wealthier, Highly Educated and More Diverse
Released Thursday, the five-year American Community Survey offers detailed demographics on Evanston. The community is younger, wealthier, more educated and more diverse than Illinois as a whole.
The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released estimates from its American Community Survey, which provides local statistics for the combined years from 2007 to 2011 on everything from housing to employment to marital status in communities throughout the country.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Evanston’s population is younger, wealthier, more diverse and significantly more educated than that of the average Illinois municipality.
Evanston also has a lower percentage of families with children than state averages, and the median age of its residents is younger.
Take a look at the following interesting facts and check out a larger table at the bottom of the page.
- Evanston is a youthful city. Broken down into age brackets, the greatest number of Evanston residents fall between the ages of 20 and 24 (11.3 percent.) The next largest age bracket is 15 to 19 (8.5 percent), followed by 25 to 29 (7.9 percent.)
- The majority of Evanston families make more than $100,000 a year, while 5.5 percent fall below the poverty line.
- The median household income is $68,107, as compared to a state average of $55,735.
- The median home value is $395,000, nearly double the state average of $198,500.
- 48.5 percent of Evanston housing units were built before 1939, while that figure is 23.1 percent statewide.
- Not surprisingly, the percentage of renter-occupied housing units in Evanston (44.7 percent) is greater than the percentage across Illinois (32.5 percent).
- While the number of women statewide is 51 percent of the total population, Evanston women outnumber Evanston men by an even greater percentage, with 52.4 percent female residents.
- The bulk of Evanston workers (36.1 percent) classified their job as falling within the fields of educational services, health care or social assistance. The second biggest segment (16.8 percent) said they worked in professional, scientific, management or administrative and waste management services.
- 18.1 percent of Evanston residents say they are of African ancestry. That was the highest percentage, followed by German (17.3 percent,) Irish (12.4 percent), Hispanic, (9.0 percent), Asian (8.6 percent), English (8.4 percent), Polish (6.4 percent), Italian (5.0 percent) and Russian (3.3 percent).
Tomorrow, we’ll have a table comparing similar data from various North Shore communities. Check back then to see how your town measures up.
|
|
Evanston |
Illinois |
|
Total Population |
74,486 |
12,790,182 |
| Median Age (years) | 34.3 | 36.4 |
| Female population | 52.4% | 51.0% |
| Male population | 47.6% | 49.0% |
| White population | 65.6% | 71.5% |
| Black population | 18.1% | 14.5% |
| Hispanic and Latino population | 9.0% | 4.6% |
| Asian population | 8.6% | 15.8% |
|
Families with own children under 18 |
24.1% |
30.1% |
|
Husband-wife family with kids under 18 |
18.0% |
21.0% |
| Single parent with kids under 18 | 6.1% | 9.1% |
|
High School graduate, including GED* |
93.4% |
86.2% |
|
College degrees* |
65.6% |
30.3% |
|
Graduate degrees* |
36.4% |
11.6% |
|
Foreign-born* |
15.9% |
13.6% |
| Speaks only English at home* | 79.7% | 78.3% |
| Speaks a language other than English at home* | 20.3% | 21.7% |
| Employed* | 60.5% | 60.8% |
| Unemployed members of labor force* | 6.8% | 8.6% |
| Not in labor force* | 35.0% | 33.2% |
|
Mean travel time to work (minutes) |
29.0 |
28.1 |
| Drove alone to work* | 50.8% | 73.6% |
| Took public transportation to work* | 19.6% | 8.7% |
| Work from home* | 7.6% | 3.9% |
|
Median household income* |
$68,107 |
$55,735 |
|
Percentage of all families with income below the poverty line* |
5.5% |
9.2% |
|
Families making less than $14,999* |
4.2% |
7.0% |
| Families making $15,000 - $24,999* | 4.6% | 7.2% |
| Families making $25,000 - $34,999* | 5.1% | 8.4% |
| Families making $35,000 - $49,999* | 8.8% | 12.7% |
| Families making $50,000 - $74,999* | 12.8% | 19.7% |
| Families making $75,000 - $99,999* | 11.7% | 15.6% |
|
Families making $100,000 - 149,999* |
21.1% |
17.0% |
|
Families making $150,000 - $199,999* |
12.4% |
6.3% |
|
Families making $200,000 or more* |
19.3% |
6.2% |
| Owner-occupied housing | 55.3% | 67.5% |
| Renter-occupied housing | 44.7% | 32.5% |
|
Median value of owner-occupied homes* |
$395,000 |
$198,500 |
| Housing units built 1939 or earlier* | 48.5% | 23.1% |
| Housing units built 1940-1979* | 38.8% | 47.3% |
| Housing units built 1980 or later* | 12.6% | 29.6% |
*Data pulled from American Community Survey. The rest of the data is pulled from official census figures.
Seymour Taylor
7:08 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Where are the stats on residents who don't claim European ancestry?
Jennifer Fisher
2:54 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Seymour, I only listed the highest percentages as reported by the census. But it breaks down much further. You can see the complete breakdown at this link: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_5YR_DP02
JB
9:00 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I noticed the same omission that Seymour pointed out. A big chunk of folks in Evanston got left out of that tally.
JB
9:11 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
Jennifer - I think it was your last bullet point that was confusing. Shouldn't it read 17.3% of white Evanston residents...?
Jennifer Fisher
9:52 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
No, it's 17.3% of the total population, or 12,775 people who said they are of German ancestry (out of 73,880).
JB
10:32 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
OK, so in that same bullet point, where are the black, hispanic and Asian populations that are shown in the chart below?
Jennifer Fisher
10:59 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
That's a good question, JB. I think I figured it out. I pulled the data for that bullet point from the American Community Survey's ancestry tables. According to the American Community Survey FAQ section: "In most of our ancestry tables, we do not show groups that are shown elsewhere in the race and Hispanic tables." So people who are of African American, Hispanic or Asian origin are shown elsewhere (and we've got that data in the chart, as you pointed out.)
I'll add it to the bullet point, too - I think you and other folks are right that the information should be included there as well.