Waukegan

Population & Demographics

Waukegan, IL

Waukegan is home to 89,076 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 35,063 resident workers commute each day.

IllinoisCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
89,076
people
Population

89,076 residents

Median age 35.5 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Waukegan population & demographics

Who lives in Waukegan — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
89,076
Median age
35.5yrs
Median household income
$71,919
Median home value
$190,900
Median gross rent
$1,205/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
20.9%
Poverty rate
15.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Waukegan

How Waukegan breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

Hispanic or Latino57.9%
White16.7%
Black16.6%
Asian5.4%
Two or more races2.7%
Some other race0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.0%

Race across Waukegan

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Waukegan.

Waukegan at a glance
Employed Residents
35,063
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
15.1mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
16.2%
Share working within the area
Work from home
7.6%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Chicago
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Waukegan proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Waukegan commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

54
Commute Score

54 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Waukegan

35,063 commutes, one dot at a time

Waukegan

Where 35,063 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Waukegan, by worker count.

1Waukegan0.0 mi5,689
2Chicago37.1 mi2,977
3Gurnee3.9 mi2,241
4North Chicago3.8 mi1,267
5Libertyville8.0 mi987
6Mundelein10.5 mi885
7Pleasant Prairie11.6 mi868
8Vernon Hills11.1 mi768

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Waukegan.

1Waukegan0.0 mi5,689
2Chicago37.1 mi1,977
3Zion5.7 mi1,257
4Gurnee3.9 mi1,196
5Kenosha14.6 mi1,051
6Beach Park3.5 mi965
7North Chicago3.8 mi796
8Round Lake Beach11.5 mi545

Top industries

The sectors that employ Waukegan’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services14.6%
MFManufacturing12.9%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance9.9%
TRTransportation and Warehousing9.0%
EDEducational Services9.0%
PAPublic Administration8.9%
RTRetail Trade8.2%
WSWholesale Trade7.7%
AFAccommodation and Food Services5.8%
Connectivity

Internet options for Waukegan

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

3 providers · 1 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps95%
5 Gbps26%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Waukegan

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).