Housing Units in Northeastern Illinois
Up More Than 176,000
from Census Day, 2000 to July 1, 2005

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that from Census Day (April 1, 2000) to July 1, 2005, the number of housing units in the seven counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will) that now comprise northeastern Illinois rose 176,400 to a total of 3.26 million.  As a result, these seven of 102 counties in Illinois accounted for more than two-thirds of the statewide gain in housing units, according to an analysis of the 2005 housing unit estimates for states and counties released by the Census Bureau on August 21, 2006.

In Illinois, the top counties adding housing units in the period were these same seven counties, with six of them increasing their housing supply by at least 16,000 units.  Cook County led the way by adding more than 47,000 units to its housing stock in the first half of the decade.  That ranked it 26th highest among all 3,141 counties in the United States.  At the same time, neighboring Will County ranked 28th nationally in the number of housing units added, increasing its housing stock by more than 40,000 units.  Kane (68th), Lake (83rd), and DuPage (100th) also managed to land in the top 100 counties nationally.

According to the Census Bureau estimates, the number of housing units in Kendall County, the smallest of the seven counties, jumped 44.3% in the five-year period, easily the fastest rate of growth among Illinois counties and the sixth fastest nationally.  It was joined on the list of the nation's 100 fastest growing counties by Will County, coming in 73rd with a five-year housing growth rate of 23.2%.