A post office has been in operation in Dolton since 1854. The village was named for a family of early settlers.
Geography
Dolton is located at . According to the 2010 census, Dolton has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,614 people, 8,512 households, and 6,494 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,627.6 people per square mile. There were 8,944 housing units at an average density of 1,965.1 per square mile. For 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 91.0% African American, 6.2% White, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 2.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population. There were 8,512 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couplesliving together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.42. In the village, the population was spread out with 32.% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $48,020, and the median income for a family was $52,725. Males had a median income of $38,646 versus $31,773 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,102. About 6.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Dolton is in Illinois' 2nd congressional district and the 15th State Senate District. Approximately 3/4 of the village is within the Illinois Legislature's 29th Representative District, with the remainder in the 30th district. The village is split evenly between the Cook County Judicial Circuit 1st Subcircuit and 2nd Subcircuit. Most of the village is part of the Dolton Park District, with a small portion served by the Calumet Memorial Park District. The entire village is part of the Dolton Public Library District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
