Chicago is an enormous city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 2,664,452 people and 792 associated neighborhoods, Chicago is the largest community in Illinois. Much of the housing stock in Chicago was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country. Chicago real estate is some of the most expensive in Illinois, although Chicago house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Unlike some cities, Chicago isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Chicago are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Chicago is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Chicago who work in management occupations (12.18%), office and administrative support (9.43%), and business and financial occupations (8.79%). Also of interest is that Chicago has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 18.29% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In Chicago, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.22 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the city is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. One of the benefits of being a big city like Chicago is having a public transportation system, but in Chicago the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus Chicago benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.The citizens of Chicago are among the most well-educated in the nation: 43.32% of adults in Chicago have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Chicago in 2022 was $48,148, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $192,592 for a family of four. However, Chicago contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Chicago is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Chicago home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Chicago residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Chicago also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 29.61% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Chicago include German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and English. Foreign born people are also an important part of Chicago's cultural character, accounting for 20.71% of the city’s population. The most common language spoken in Chicago is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
