Jury Pool Profile
Lake County, Illinois
- County seat
- Waukegan
- Judicial district
- 19th Judicial Circuit Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 719,339
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 714,223.
At a glance
Lake County is a 719,339-person venue. The county population is 61% White and 7% Black (Census race-alone categories). 25% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Median household income is $108,137, $24,810 above the IL state median of $83,327; 47.7% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 31.4% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish and Russian, Polish, or other Slavic. The largest published sector is Trade, transportation & utilities, at 21.7% of covered employment, average pay $81,936/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.0%, above the 4.85% state average. The county carried the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 57% to 61% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 714,223
- Median household income
- $110,416
- Unemployment
- 5.0%
Who sits on a jury?
50–70% White and ≥15% Black. This county: 61% / 7%.
Lake County has a population of 714,223, with a median age of 39.1. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 61.2%; Black residents 6.7%. Independently, 24.9% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $108,137; 47.7% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 7.8% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Counting the cells BLS withholds (private jobs estimated from Census County Business Patterns, government jobs from the statewide mix), the two largest sectors are within 20% of each other: Trade, transportation & utilities about 71,780, Education & health services about 64,840.
Trade, transportation & utilities is the largest published sector at 21.7% of covered employment, followed by Education & health services at 20.0%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.0%, above the Illinois state average.
Political composition
Democratic candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 59%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Lake County was carried by the Democratic candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 59.7% in 2024, 61.1% in 2020, 57.3% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 71% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 31.4% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
31.4% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Russian, Polish, or other Slavic, Chinese. Veterans account for 4.7% of the adult civilian population (25,130 individuals).