a web-based report from the
Consortium on Chicago School Research

Selected Indicators from the U.S. Census and Chicago Public Schools Records Related to the Lives and Schooling of Children

Navigating This Site

Click here to View Data Tables by Community Area

or

Click here to View Maps

Understanding the Demographics of Chicago's Children

Every year, more than 425,000 students enroll in the Chicago Public Schools. These students possess diverse characteristics, such as community of residence and language background, that influence who they are and how they learn.

With this in mind, the Consortium on Chicago School Research has identified numerous descriptors about Chicago’s children and their environments, primarily from the United States Census, that inform school planning and reform. Among these are racial and ethnic background, adults’ educational attainment, income indicators, family structure, and language background. To complement these descriptors, the Consortium analyzed Chicago Public Schools' enrollment data to determine whether students attend their neighborhood school, a magnet school, or another non-neighborhood school.

For this web-based data brief, the Consortium has calculated the number of residents in Chicago and its 77 community areas who possess each descriptor. Calculations were prepared for 1990, 2000, and the change during this ten-year period. When relevant, percentages were also calculated.

Each calculation is described in community-area data tables, and each descriptor is displayed in community-area maps. In most cases, these maps include 1990 count, 2000 count, change in count, 1990 percentage, 2000 percentage, and change in percentage.