Village · Cook County, Illinois

Dolton, Illinois

Dolton is a village in Cook County, Illinois, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 20,825 residents. Dolton, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 25 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,773 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #607 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an emergency room (low), public transit commuters (high) and access to exercise opportunities (high). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), food insecurity (high) and unemployment rate (high).

25Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,773 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #607 of 697 in IL
Population: 20,825 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 4,556.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1720292

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety14#13,400/15,637
Economy21#12,341/15,631
Housing13#12,974/14,977
Health46#8,381/15,609
Healthcare68#5,035/15,650
Environment7#14,286/15,453
Education40#9,439/15,649
Infrastructure44#8,691/15,650
Community36#9,968/15,651
Leisure & amenities74#4,027/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dolton, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cook County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an emergency room · low2.1 mi
99/100Illinois 4.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCook County value
Public transit commuters · high8.1%
96/100Illinois 5.8%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Access to exercise opportunities · high99.1%
96/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCook County value
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
94/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCook County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,740
94/100Illinois $1,539United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCook County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
92/100Illinois 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCook County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.84%
0/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Food insecurity · high35.2%
4/100Illinois 16.5%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Unemployment rate · high12.8%
5/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Lack of reliable transportation · high16.8%
5/100Illinois 8.4%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Days with unhealthy air · high6.8%
6/100Illinois 4.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCook County value
Child poverty rate · high38.8%
7/100Illinois 14.1%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
22,737 (2015-2019) → 20,825 (2020-2024)
−8.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.1% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersWorsening
15.0% (2015-2019) → 8.1% (2020-2024)
−6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
High school diploma or higherImproving
88.1% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeImproving
41.7 min (2015-2019) → 30.7 min (2020-2024)
−27%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$46,614 (2015-2019) → $57,887 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Dolton, Illinois improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Commute−11.1 min41.7 min → 30.7 min
Unemployment−4.8 points17.6% → 12.8%
Broadband+11 points80.1% → 91.3%
Household income+24%$46,614 → $57,887

Declined2

Transit use−6.9 points15.0% → 8.1%
Price / income+0.4×2.2× → 2.6×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Dolton, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	41.7 min2015-2019	30.7 min2020-2024	−11.1 min	Improved	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.2%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Broadband subscriptions	80.1%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	65%
Child poverty rate	41.3%2015-2019	38.8%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Effective property tax rate	2.43%2015-2019	2.84%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	88.1%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4352015-2019	0.4492020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$46,6142015-2019	$57,8872020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	22.3%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Public transit commuters	15.0%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Declined	4%
Rent as share of income	44.6%2015-2019	47.6%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Rent-burdened households	68.5%2015-2019	72.3%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Unemployment rate	17.6%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.4%2015-2019	10.0%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Dolton, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dolton, Illinois in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Dolton, Illinois itself moved +3.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

20,825 residents (±56)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,820 households (±447)

Dolton, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k23%1,769
$25k–50k22%1,696
$50k–75k19%1,447

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,820 households (±447)

Dolton, Illinois
Illinois share

Own73%5,677
Rent27%2,143

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.9 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

7,962 workers (±739)

Dolton, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone68%5,426
Carpool8.3%†664
Public transit8.1%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cook County, the county holding most of Dolton's residents.

Cook County has 134,513 employer establishments, 262 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Illinois's), with 2,492,328 paid employees at an average annual pay of $83,113. The Census Bureau also counts 578,139 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 134,513; 578,139 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 262; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 2,492,328
Average annual pay: $83,113; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cook County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	12,255	23.8	1.14×About typical	120,830	$73,746	26,012
Restaurants and other eating places	10,283	20	1.09×About typical	175,761	$29,528	3,209
Truck transportation	6,896	13.4	2.65×More than typical	35,576	$58,890	37,659
Specialty trade contractors	6,308	12.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	51,795	$91,576	24,041
Lessors of real estate	6,106	11.9	0.96×About typical	36,481	$90,793	47,456
Limited-service restaurants	4,656	9.1	1.13×About typical	71,531	$23,650	1,099
Management, scientific and technical consulting	4,501	8.8	1.30×More than typical	78,036	$144,574	20,774
Full-service restaurants	4,330	8.4	1.10×About typical	87,914	$35,009	1,468
Legal services	4,152	8.1	1.50×More than typical	39,614	$166,701	6,046
Construction of buildings	4,132	8	1.06×About typical	19,598	$98,127	22,202
Offices of other health practitioners	4,034	7.8	1.29×More than typical	22,664	$51,319	10,130
Offices of physicians	3,409	6.6	1.02×About typical	42,167	$110,011	4,357

Rank places for an industry Open Cook County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,142,853 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$638K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dolton, Illinois: -$30.64 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$638K; −127% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$30.64; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

142.2KFY2017
297.8KFY2018
-211.4KFY2019
237.1KFY2020
22.7KFY2021
-1.5KFY2022
13.2KFY2023
2.4MFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$15.8K0.0%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Dolton, Illinois

8511389760!CYLINDER SLEEVE AND$59.4K
IMMOBILAIRE INC.· Cook County, IL· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· May 19, 2025 – Jan 6, 2026· SPE7L025F0720
8511424288!STARTER,ENGINE,ELEC$35.6K
IMMOBILAIRE INC.· Cook County, IL· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jun 5, 2025 – Nov 18, 2025· SPE7L125F6837
8511362075!CIRCUIT CARD ASSEMB$35.6K
IMMOBILAIRE INC.· Cook County, IL· Other equipment & supplies· May 5, 2025 – Jan 8, 2026· SPE7M525V4611
8511390647!PARTS KIT,PISTON AS$34.3K

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Dolton, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Dolton, Illinois's figures are part of those of Cook County, IL ($4B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Dolton is mostly in Cook County.

See federal money in Cook County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Dolton, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Cook County55100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in Cook County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1720292

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends