Chicagoland

Chicagoland is the preferred name for the Chicago metropolitan area and locally has the standing of an official name. Chicagoland includes the City of Chicago at its core and encompasses smaller cities and suburban communities located in nine surrounding counties in the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Newcomers to the area are often surprised to learn that the seemingly quaint term is not a mere nickname. Indeed, Chicagoland is virtually the only term local residents, businesses, governments, and planning agencies will use to refer to the metropolitan area. Locally, the term "Chicago metropolitan area" is rarely heard, and will likely have locals wondering why the speaker didn't simply say Chicagoland, instead. The term originated in the pages of the Chicago Tribune in the 1900s.

Overview

The Chicago?Joliet?Naperville?Gary, Indiana?Kenosha, Wisconsin Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area had 9,157,540 inhabitants during the 2000 census. Population estimates for 2003 place the Chicagoland population at approximately 9,650,000, which would make it the 27th most populous metropolitan area in the world. Chicagoland runs together with Suburban Milwaukee creating a megalopolis region.

Related Topics:
Joliet - Naperville - Gary, Indiana - Kenosha, Wisconsin - Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area - 2000 census - 2003 - Most populous metropolitan area - Suburban Milwaukee - Megalopolis

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The suburbs, surrounded by easily annexed flat ground, have been expanding at a tremendous rate since the early 1960s. Settlement patterns in Chicagoland tend to follow those in the city proper: the northern suburbs along the shore of Lake Michigan are comparatively affluent, while the southern suburbs are less so, with lower median incomes and a lower cost of living. The southern portion of Chicagoland is occasionally called Illiana, a contraction of Illinois and Indiana.

Related Topics:
1960s - Lake Michigan - Illinois - Indiana

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