People QuickFacts Cook County Illinois Population, 2006 estimate 5,288,655 12,831,970 Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 -1.6% 3.3% Population, 2000 5,376,741 12,419,293 Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2006 7.4% 6.9% Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2006 25.7% 25.1% Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2006 11.7% 12.0% Female persons, percent, 2006 51.3% 50.8% White persons, percent, 2006 (a) 66.6% 79.3% Black persons, percent, 2006 (a) 26.3% 15.0% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2006 (a) 0.4% 0.3% Asian persons, percent, 2006 (a) 5.6% 4.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2006 (a) 0.1% 0.1% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2006 1.1% 1.1% Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2006 (b) 22.7% 14.7% White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2006 44.9% 65.3% Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over 57.0% 56.8% Foreign born persons, percent, 2000 19.8% 12.3% Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000 30.8% 19.2% High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000 77.7% 81.4% Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000 28.0% 26.1% Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000 973,558 1,999,717 Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000 32.6 28.0  Housing units, 2006 2,157,542 5,199,589 Homeownership rate, 2000 57.9% 67.3% Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2000 54.4% 34.0% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000 $157,700 $130,800  Households, 2000 1,974,181 4,591,779 Persons per household, 2000 2.68 2.63 Median household income, 2004 $43,584 $47,711 Per capita money income, 1999 $23,227 $23,104 Persons below poverty, percent, 2004 15.2% 11.9%     Business QuickFacts Cook County Illinois Private nonfarm establishments, 2005 130,454 318,927 Private nonfarm employment, 2005 2,320,005 5,235,866 Private nonfarm employment, percent change 2000-2005 -9.2% -4.8% Nonemployer establishments, 2005 380,457 835,236 Total number of firms, 2002 421,341 958,120 Black-owned firms, percent, 2002 13.0% 7.2% American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002 0.4% 0.4% Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002 6.6% 4.6% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002 S 0.1% Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002 6.4% 4.1% Women-owned firms, percent, 2002 31.0% 29.7%  Manufacturers shipments, 2002 ($1000) 65,387,978 188,365,216 Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000) 117,324,662 317,467,059 Retail sales, 2002 ($1000) 50,441,449 131,469,518 Retail sales per capita, 2002 $9,403 $10,446 Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000) 9,587,830 19,072,168 Building permits, 2006 19,886 58,802 Federal spending, 2004 ($1000) 32,974,429 76,828,360     Geography QuickFacts Cook County Illinois Land area, 2000 (square miles) 945.68 55,583.58 Persons per square mile, 2000 5,683.7 223.4 FIPS Code 031 17 Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metro Area   (a) Includes persons reporting only one race. (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data NA: Not available D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information X: Not applicable S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown F: Fewer than 100 firms Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts