Joseph E. Merrion developed inexpensive duplex houses in Hometown after World War II, targeting former GIs and their families. Hometown incorporated in 1953, and its population peaked at over 7,000 in 1958. On April 21, 1967, an F4 rated tornado tore through Hometown, devastating the area, destroying 86 homes and damaging 500 others.
Geography
Hometown is located at . According to the 2010 census, Hometown has a total area of, all land. Hometown borders the city of Chicago along 87th Street between Cicero Avenue and Pulaski Road. The town's southern border is located one-half mile south of 87th, where 91st Street would be.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,467 people, 1,895 households, and 1,171 families living in the city. The population density was 9,354.6 people per square mile. There were 1,938 housing units at an average density of 4,058.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.29% White, 0.18% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.01% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.83% of the population. The top four ancestries reported in Hometown as of the 2000 census were Irish, German, Polish and Italian. There were 1,895 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couplesliving together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,512, and the median income for a family was $49,911. Males had a median income of $39,799 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,149. About 1.9% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
