Census: Evanston Is Younger, Wealthier, Highly Educated and More Diverse

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

Families with own children under 18

24.1%

30.1%

Husband-wife family with kids under 18

18.0%

21.0%

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%

Mean travel time to work (minutes)

29.0

28.1

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 $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%

Median value of owner-occupied homes*

$395,000

$198,500

*Data pulled from American Community Survey. The rest of the data is pulled from official census figures.