Demographics of Ottawa city, Illinois

Ottawa city, Illinois had 18,684 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −119 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Ottawa city, in four figures

18,684
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 18,447 ±584.; −0.6%
Change since July 2020: −119 people.; 39.8 ±4.1
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $71,413 ±$9,059
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Ottawa city, Illinois's population shrank 0.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Ottawa city, Illinois's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Ottawa city, Illinois's population shrank 0.6% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Ottawa city, Illinois's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	18,803	100.0	100.0
2021	18,774	99.8	100.2
2022	18,636	99.1	100.7
2023	18,705	99.5	101.6
2024	18,719	99.6	102.5
2025	18,684	99.4	103.1

Population of Ottawa city, Illinois on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	18,803	—
2021	18,774	−29
2022	18,636	−138
2023	18,705	+69
2024	18,719	+14
2025	18,684	−35

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 39.8 ±4.1: for men 39.5 ±4.5 and for women 39.9 ±5.0. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Ottawa city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Illinois	United States
Under 5	1,038 ±228	5.6% ±1.2	5.4% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	3,630 ±429	19.7% ±2.2	16.4% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	1,168 ±236	6.3% ±1.3	9.1% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	4,559 ±450	24.7% ±2.3	26.9% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	5,028 ±485	27.3% ±2.5	25.2% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	3,024 ±400	16.4% ±2.1	17.0% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $71,413 ±$9,059, and income per person $40,071 ±$5,575, in 2024 dollars. The median is $83,390 ±$362 in Illinois and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Ottawa city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Illinois	United States
Under $25,000	1,311 ±277	17.4% ±3.6	14.6% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	1,611 ±313	21.3% ±4.0	16.0% ±0.2	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	942 ±211	12.5% ±2.7	14.8% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	1,268 ±246	16.8% ±3.2	12.6% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	1,150 ±231	15.2% ±3.0	18.0% ±0.2	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	733 ±231	9.7% ±3.0	10.1% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	538 ±165	7.1% ±2.2	13.8% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Ottawa city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Illinois	United States
All ages	3,077 ±641	17.3% ±3.6	11.8% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,075 ±339	24.8% ±7.1	15.1% ±0.2	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	1,470 ±345	15.6% ±3.5	11.0% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	532 ±171	13.2% ±3.9	10.6% ±0.1	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Ottawa city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Ottawa city	Illinois	United States
Housing units	8,217 ±343	5,457,452 ±471	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	91.9% ±1.7	92.3% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	8.1% ±2.8	7.7% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	69.7% ±3.9	67.1% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	30.3% ±3.6	32.9% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$154,000 ±$8,162	$263,300 ±$797	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$920 ±$38	$1,274 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1958 ±2	1971 ±2	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Ottawa city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Illinois	United States
Hispanic or Latino	1,861 ±491	10.1% ±2.6	18.8% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	15,229 ±653	82.6% ±2.4	58.1% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	458 ±184	2.5% ±1.0	13.3% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	88 to 280	0.5% to 1.5%	5.9% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 20	0% to 0.1%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 4	0% to < 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 20	0% to 0.1%	0.4% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	714 ±256	3.9% ±1.4	3.4% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Ottawa city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Illinois	United States
Born in the state	14,820 ±684	80.3% ±2.7	66.5% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	2,899 ±537	15.7% ±2.9	17.5% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	48 to 280	0.3% to 1.5%	1.3% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	564 ±200	3.1% ±1.1	14.7% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	249 ±87	1.3% ±0.5	7.7% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	148 to 482	0.8% to 2.6%	7.0% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Ottawa city among the places of Illinois

136th of 337 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Illinois page.

Places of Illinois near Ottawa city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Matteson village	18,645 ±46
Round Lake village	18,628 ±37
Bensenville village	18,603 ±36
Alsip village	18,583 ±42
Sycamore city	18,559 ±362
Ottawa city	18,447 ±584
Shorewood village	18,343 ±26
Bellwood village	18,256 ±45
Franklin Park village	18,197 ±46
Palos Hills city	18,081 ±32
Bourbonnais village	18,078 ±106

Rankings this appears in

No. 16 Places in Illinois by poverty rate
No. 21 Places in Illinois by median age
No. 101 Places in Illinois by per capita income
No. 109 Places in Illinois by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 121 Places in Illinois by homeownership rate
No. 152 Places in Illinois by median household income

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026