Prospect Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 16,058.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Prospect Heights has a total area of 4.29 sqmi, of which 4.26 sqmi (or 99.30%) is land and 0.03 sqmi (or 0.70%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 16,058 people, 6,144 households, and 4,205 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,746.62 PD/sqmi. There were 6,657 housing units at an average density of 1,553.20 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 61.41% White, 10.31% Asian, 1.51% African American, 1.33% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 14.14% from other races, and 11.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.99% of the population. There were 6,144 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 10.34% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.56% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.74% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 2.59. The city's age distribution consisted of 24.0% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 29% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $72,500, and the median income for a family was $84,803. Males had a median income of $48,699 versus $27,007 for females. The per capita income for the city was $39,534. About 6.5% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. On April 5, 2011, Nicholas "Nick" Helmer was elected Mayor of Prospect Heights with 70% of the vote. Less than thirty days after being sworn in, Mayor Helmer rehired police officers that were laid off by the prior administration.

Education

Most of Prospect Heights is served by the Prospect Heights School District 23, which contains four schools: Other districts that serve portions of Prospect Heights include: Township High School District 214 serves Prospect Heights. Students attend either Wheeling High School or John Hersey High School. Those in District 23's area will attend either. Those in District 21's area will attend Wheeling and those in District 26's area will attend Hersey. Private education in Prospect Heights is St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Parish and St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

Transportation

In addition to Pace buses, Prospect Heights is serviced by two Metra lines, with service to Chicago Union Station or Antioch from a station on the North Central Service, while the Union Pacific / Northwest Line has two stations nearby.

Notable people