Indian-American wealth in the Chicago metro: collar counties gain, Cook holds steady

The Chicago–Naperville–Elgin metro area, which reaches into Indiana and Wisconsin, has about 257,000 residents of Asian Indian descent, the fourth-largest Indian-American metro community in the country [1] (our ranking). It grew about 10% between the two survey periods [1][2].

Growth has moved outward. The fastest gains are in the outer collar counties, while our data shows the region's highest net worth still clustered in Chicago and an older ring of suburbs.

• 256,999 residents of Asian Indian descent (alone or in combination) in Chicago, 2020–2024 average [1], or 2.7% of the population [3].
• +9.5% versus the 2015–2019 estimate of 234,778 [1][2] (our calculation).
• 2,054 people in the HeyAlbert database placed in Chicago at an estimated $1M+, of whom 309 are in our $5M+ bands [9].

Where Chicago's Indian-American residents live, by county

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey counts 256,999 people who report Asian Indian ancestry, alone or with another group, in Chicago [1]. Cook County, IL holds 51% of them, and the three largest counties together hold 85% [4][5] (our calculation).

County	2020–2024	2015–2019	Change	Share of county
Cook County, IL	131,183	126,573	4%	2.5%
DuPage County, IL	59,739	57,270	4%	6.4%
Lake County, IL	27,752	20,383	36%	3.9%
Will County, IL	21,736	16,973	28%	3.1%
Kane County, IL	7,212	6,085	19%	1.4%
McHenry County, IL	3,000	2,170	38%	1.0%
Lake County, IN	2,600	1,836	42%	0.5%
Kendall County, IL	2,399	1,170	105%	1.7%

Asian Indian alone or in any combination. Sources: ACS 5-year estimates [4][5]; totals from Table B01003. Change and share are our calculations. Estimates carry margins of error.

Cook County holds about 131,200 residents of Asian Indian descent and DuPage about 59,700, each up about 4% [4][5]. Lake County, Illinois, grew about 36%, Will about 28%, and Kendall roughly doubled, from about 1,200 to 2,400 [4][5]. Buffalo Grove (18%), Naperville (14%), and Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates (13% each) are the most concentrated larger places [7].

The most concentrated communities

Raw counts favor big cities. Ranking places of 20,000+ residents by the share who report Asian Indian ancestry gives a different map [7][8]:

Place	Asian Indian residents	Total population	Share
Buffalo Grove	7,666	42,891	17.9%
Naperville	21,147	150,692	14.0%
Schaumburg	10,156	76,868	13.2%
Hoffman Estates	6,423	51,175	12.6%
Vernon Hills	3,310	26,876	12.3%
Morton Grove	2,841	24,619	11.5%
Carol Stream	4,275	39,460	10.8%
Hanover Park	3,521	36,732	9.6%

Places with 20,000+ residents and at least 1,000 Asian Indian residents. CDP = census-designated place. Sources: ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Tables B02018 and B01003 [7][8]; shares are our calculation.

What the HeyAlbert database shows in Chicago

HeyAlbert builds profiles of Indian-American individuals with an estimated net worth of $1M or more from public records, and every estimate is tied to a cited source. Our database currently places 2,054 such people in Chicago [9]. That is a count of people we have found and estimated, not a census of wealthy households: our coverage is partial and uneven.

Estimated net-worth band	People in our database
$1M–5M	1,745
$5M–15M	223
$25M+ (probable)	40
$25M+ (likely)	46
Total, $1M+	2,054

Source: HeyAlbert database [9]. Bands are estimates from public evidence; “likely” and “probable” describe our confidence in the $25M+ tier. Cells under 25 are suppressed.

City	$1M+	of which $5M+	of which $25M+
Chicago	744	197	64
South Barrington	136	<25	<25
Glenview	104	<25	<25
Oak Brook	86	<25	<25
Northbrook	72	<25	<25
Lake Forest	51	<25	<25
Wilmette	50	<25	<25
Hinsdale	43	<25	<25
Naperville	40	<25	<25
Burr Ridge	35	<25	<25
Winnetka	33	<25	<25
Schaumburg	28	<25	<25

Source: HeyAlbert database [9]. Cities with 25+ people at $1M+; cells under 25 shown as <25. The city is where our sources place the person; for some records it is a workplace rather than a home.

Chicago itself has 744 people in our metro set at $1M+, including 197 at $5M+ and 64 at $25M+ [9]. The suburbs that follow are estate and North Shore communities: South Barrington (136), Glenview (104), Oak Brook (86), Northbrook, Lake Forest and Wilmette [9]. Naperville, the community's best-known suburb, has 40 people in our set [9].

Why our Chicago count looks the way it does

Each estimate in our database rests on a primary piece of public evidence. The mix differs from place to place, depending on which records we have been able to process, and it shapes the counts above more than any real difference in wealth does [9].

Primary evidence for the estimate	People	Share
Home value (public assessor or listing records)	1,439	70%
Other public signals (executive roles, company filings, gifts, pay)	440	21%
Physician (NPI registry; seniority and specialty estimate)	175	9%

Source: HeyAlbert database [9], people at $1M+. Categories under 25 not shown.

About 70% of our Chicago metro estimates rest on home values, and 175 on physician records [9]. Property coverage in the outer collar counties is thinner, so their fast population growth is not yet visible in our counts.

Giving signals

144 of the 2,054 people in our Chicago set (7.0%) have at least one public giving signal, such as a named gift on a donor roll or a role at a charity [9]. By cause, counting each person once per cause:

Cause area	People with a signal
Other causes	46
Education	41
Arts and culture	27

Source: HeyAlbert database [9]. Causes with fewer than 25 people not shown. A person can appear under more than one cause.

What it means if you work with these families

Chicago's Indian-American market splits between an established core (the city, the North Shore and the western estate suburbs) and fast-growing outer counties where younger professional families are buying. Physicians and business owners are well represented in the first group. The second is the pipeline.

Methodology

Census figures are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2020–2024 and 2015–2019, Table B02018, using “Asian Indian, alone or in any combination” [1][2]. Total population comes from Table B01003 [3]. The Census Bureau changed how it codes detailed race responses in 2020, so part of the change between the two periods may reflect coding rather than migration. All estimates carry margins of error. Shares and growth rates are our calculations.

HeyAlbert counts are aggregates from our database as of October 2026 [9]. They include people we identified as likely of Indian origin with an estimated net worth of $1M or more, based on public records such as property assessments, professional licenses, patents, SEC filings and donor rolls. Coverage is partial and depends on which public records exist and which we have processed. These counts are not population totals. Any cell under 25 is suppressed, and we publish aggregates only, never individual records.

Related

• How large and affluent is the Indian American community in the Chicago area?
• Indian-American wealth in Illinois
• Which US metro areas have the most affluent Indian American communities?
• How many US doctors are of Indian origin?

HeyAlbert finds Indian-American families worth $1M+ and tells you who to call, with every fact cited. See who is in Chicago at heyalbert.site.

Sources

1. ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all metropolitan statistical areas. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=010XX00US$3100000 (data: machine-readable)
2. ACS 2015–2019 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all metropolitan statistical areas. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2019.B02018?g=010XX00US$3100000 (data: machine-readable)
3. ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B01003, all metropolitan statistical areas. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=010XX00US$3100000 (data: machine-readable)
4. ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all counties. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=010XX00US$0500000 (data: machine-readable)
5. ACS 2015–2019 5-year estimates, Table B02018, all counties. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2019.B02018?g=010XX00US$0500000 (data: machine-readable)
6. ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Table B01003, counties in CBSA 16980. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=310M700US16980$0500000 (data: machine-readable)
7. ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Table B02018, places in CBSA 16980. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B02018?g=310M700US16980$1600000 (data: machine-readable)
8. ACS 2020–2024 5-year, Table B01003, places in CBSA 16980. US Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=310M700US16980$1600000 (data: machine-readable)
9. HeyAlbert database, aggregate counts (October 2026 snapshot); how we build it is described on our methodology page. HeyAlbert. https://heyalbert.site/research/methodology/