Kankakee is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 23,602 people and ten associated neighborhoods, Kankakee is the 98th largest community in Illinois.Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Kankakee is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 35.32% of the Kankakee workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 27.7%. Overall, Kankakee is a city of service providers, transportation and shipping workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Kankakee who work in office and administrative support (9.91%), food service (8.35%), and sales jobs (7.29%). In terms of college education, the citizens of Kankakee rank slightly lower than the national average. 13.05% of adults 25 and older in Kankakee have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community. The per capita income in Kankakee in 2022 was $22,151, which is low income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $88,604 for a family of four. However, Kankakee contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Kankakee is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Kankakee home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kankakee residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Kankakee also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 20.71% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Kankakee include African, German, Irish, English, and French. The most common language spoken in Kankakee is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
