Chicago metro area population: 9.43 million, it's growing again
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The Chicago metro area had an estimated 9,434,123 residents on July 1, 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, making it the third-largest metro in the country after New York and Los Angeles. It grew by 22,925 people over the previous year, its third straight annual gain, but it is still 15,228 people smaller than at the 2020 census.
The metro, officially Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, covers 13 counties in Illinois and Indiana. The city of Chicago itself had an estimated 2,731,585 residents in 2025, down from 2,746,388 in 2020 and 2,783,726 in 1990.
| Year | Metro population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 8,053,895 |
| 2000 | 8,948,739 |
| 2010 | 9,294,679 |
| 2020 | 9,449,351 |
| 2025 | 9,434,123 |
Immigration has carried the recent growth. In 2024-25, the metro gained 37,963 people from international migration and 18,274 from births outnumbering deaths, while 33,708 more people moved to other parts of the country than arrived. International migration was much stronger the year before, 99,676, which helped the metro add 75,277 people in 2023-24.
The metro lost people in the first two years after the 2020 census, as domestic out-migration peaked at 122,143 in 2021-22. Since July 2020, net domestic moves out of the metro total about 359,000 people.
| Rank | County | Population, 2025 | Change since 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County, IL | 5,194,625 | −1.5% |
| 2 | DuPage County, IL | 934,298 | +0.2% |
| 3 | Lake County, IL | 719,339 | +0.7% |
| 4 | Will County, IL | 712,253 | +2.3% |
| 5 | Kane County, IL | 525,757 | +1.8% |
| 6 | Lake County, IN | 504,612 | +1.2% |
| 7 | McHenry County, IL | 317,751 | +2.4% |
| 8 | Porter County, IN | 176,049 | +1.6% |
| 9 | Kendall County, IL | 145,470 | +10.3% |
| 10 | DeKalb County, IL | 101,835 | +1.4% |
| 11 | Grundy County, IL | 54,052 | +2.9% |
| 12 | Jasper County, IN | 33,894 | +3.0% |
| 13 | Newton County, IN | 14,188 | +2.6% |
Cook County, with 55 percent of the metro's residents, is the only one of the 13 counties to shrink since 2020, down 80,916 people. Every other county grew. Kendall County, southwest of the city, grew fastest, up 10.3 percent to 145,470.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metro, fourth at 8,477,157, is about 957,000 people behind Chicago. Our projection of when Dallas-Fort Worth could pass Chicago has the details, and the New York metro area is covered separately.
Sources
Metro and county figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 population estimates and components of change, for years ending July 1, and from the 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 censuses, all applied to the metro's current 13-county definition. Components are summed across the metro's counties and do not add exactly to the total because of a small residual.
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What is the population of the Chicago metro area?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area had an estimated 9,434,123 residents on July 1, 2025, according to the Census Bureau. That makes it the third-largest metro in the U.S., after New York and Los Angeles.
Is the Chicago metro area growing?
Yes, slightly. It added 22,925 people in 2024-25, its third straight annual gain, mostly from international migration. It remains 15,228 people below its 2020 census count because of losses in 2021 and 2022.
How many counties are in the Chicago metro area?
Thirteen, in Illinois and Indiana. Cook County has 5,194,625 residents, 55 percent of the metro, and is the only one that has shrunk since 2020. Kendall County grew fastest, up 10.3 percent.
