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People Statistics · City

Population of the urban area in Elgin

1975 – 2025 · 11 data points 7 of 11 · Towns of Illinois Updated Oct 21, 2026

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Population of the urban area, 1975 – 2025 people · Elgin
1975 
 
1985 
 
1995 
 
2005 
 
2015 
 
88,854
2025 

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

The series at a glance Elgin · 1975 – 2025
Latest value 88,854 · 2025
First value 55,023 · 1975
Highest 88,854 · 2025
Lowest 55,023 · 1975
Average change +1.0% a year on average
Data points 11

By year

All years · 1975 – 2025

YearElginChange
2025 88,854 +0.6%
2020 88,350 +2.1%
2015 86,540 +5.5%
2010 81,998 +9.0%
2005 75,203 +9.0%
2000 69,017 +11%
1995 62,273 +8.7%
1990 57,295 +2.0%
1985 56,162 +1.2%
1980 55,478 +0.8%
1975 55,023

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Ranking · Towns of Illinois

2025 · Place 1 is the highest value.

#TerritoryPopulation of the urban area
1 Chicago 5.3M
2 Aurora 359K
3 Bolingbrook 280K
4 Wheaton 191K
5 Waukegan 130K
6 Joliet 96,890
7 Elgin 88,854
8 Champaign 86,488
9 Bloomington 77,177
10 Chicago Heights 66,584
11 Lake in the Hills 63,894

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 2025

What it means

How many people live in the built-up city as a whole, regardless of municipal borders.

How it is calculated

Satellite maps of buildings and census data are combined into a 1 km grid; the continuous dense area of at least 50,000 people is the urban centre. Every five years from 1975; 2030 is a projection.