Latino Chicago and the Future of the City
Executive Summary
Latino Chicago and the Future of the City examines how Chicago’s Latino population has changed demographically, economically, and geographically over the past several decades, and what those changes mean for the city’s future. Building on the Great Cities Institute’s 2017 Latino Neighborhoods Report, the study analyzes conditions across 24 Chicago community areas with significant Latino populations using data on demographics, housing, income, education, employment, commercial activity, transportation, environmental conditions, and public health.
The report finds that Latinos now account for nearly 30 percent of Chicago’s population and remain the city’s youngest major racial and ethnic population, underscoring their growing importance to Chicago’s future. It also documents important shifts in where Latino Chicagoans live and in the economic circumstances of Latino households. Belmont Cragin is now the city’s largest Latino neighborhood, while population growth continues across the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast Sides. At the same time, nearly one-third of Latino households now earn $100,000 or more, bachelor’s degree attainment has risen substantially, and employment in professional occupations has expanded. These trends point to a growing Latino middle class, even as many households remain rooted in working-class occupations and continue to face significant economic insecurity.
The report also highlights the continued importance of Latino commercial corridors, with 16 primarily Latino corridors generating approximately $1.76 billion in taxable sales in 2024. These gains, however, coexist with persistent challenges, including housing-cost burdens, displacement pressures, limited transit access, long commutes, environmental hazards, and uneven access to public resources.
A central finding is that there is no single Latino neighborhood experience. Conditions vary widely across historic immigrant communities, emerging areas of settlement, homeowner neighborhoods, industrial corridors, and communities undergoing redevelopment or displacement.
Taken together, the findings portray a Latino Chicago that is larger, younger, more economically varied, and increasingly dispersed across the city, while still confronting significant structural inequalities. The report argues that planning, policy, and public investment must better reflect where Latino Chicagoans live today, how they move through the region, and the central role their communities play in shaping Chicago’s economic, social, and physical future.
This report was developed in partnership with the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, Healthy Communities Foundation, and Metropolitan Family Services. Their collaboration, community knowledge, and support helped shape a report grounded not only in data, but also in the experiences, priorities, and changing realities of Latino communities across Chicago. Together, these partnerships reflect a shared commitment to producing research that can inform more equitable planning, policy, investment, and community development throughout the city.
Media Coverage
- Block Club Chicago: Belmont Cragin Now Chicago’s Largest Latino Neighborhood As Enclaves Like Little Village Change
- WGN9: Belmont-Cragin becomes Chicago’s largest Latino neighborhood, new UIC report shows
- Fox 32 Chicago: New report details how Chicago’s Latino communities are changing
- Hoodline: BELMONT CRAGIN OVERTAKES LITTLE VILLAGE AS CHICAGO’S BIGGEST LATINO NEIGHBORHOOD