Census ACS 5-Year · 18 metrics compared
Illinois vs North Carolina
Illinois and North Carolina compared across 18 demographic and economic metrics. Illinois leads in 8 of the comparable categories.
8
Illinois wins
5
North Carolina wins
| Metric | Illinois | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 12,692,653 | 10,584,340 |
| Median Age | 38.9 | 39.1 |
| Median Household Income | $81,702 | $69,904 |
| Per Capita Income | $45,104 | $39,616 |
| Poverty Rate | 8.2% | 9.4% |
| Unemployment Rate | 3.8% | 3.0% |
| Median Home Value | $250,500 | $259,400 |
| Median Rent | $1,227 | $1,162 |
| Homeownership Rate | 66.8% | 66.4% |
| Bachelor's Degree+ | 37.2% | 34.7% |
| High School+ | 90.3% | 89.7% |
| Work From Home | 14.0% | 14.5% |
| Avg Commute (min) | 28.1 | 25.1 |
| White | 63.3% | 63.3% |
| Hispanic | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| Black | 13.8% | 20.6% |
| Asian | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Foreign Born | 17.5% | 35.7% |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Illinois has a population of 12,692,653 compared to North Carolina's 10,584,340.
Across the metrics compared, Illinois leads in 8 categories while North Carolina leads in 5. However, "better" depends on what matters most to you, income, cost of living, education, climate, and personal preferences all play a role.
All data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates by the US Census Bureau.
Comparison based on American Community Survey 5-Year estimates. Green highlighting indicates the "better" value where applicable (higher income is better, lower poverty is better, etc.). Race and ethnicity metrics are not highlighted as there is no "better" value.
The side-by-side above pulls the the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.