Prospect Heights, Illinois


Prospect Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States and is a suburb of Chicago. The population was 16,256 at the 2010 census.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Prospect Heights has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 17,081 people in 6,379 households, including 4,433 families, in the city. The population density was 4,011.1 people per square mile. There were 6,573 housing units at an average density of 1,543.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 77.41% White, 1.76% African American, 0.25% Native American, 4.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 13.82% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.58%.
Of the 6,379 households 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.1% of households were one person and 8.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.
The age distribution was 24.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males.
The median household income was $55,641 and the median family income was $63,382. Males had a median income of $40,317 versus $32,455 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,200. About 3.7% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.
On April 5, 2011, Nicholas "Nick" Helmer was elected Mayor of Prospect Heights with 70% of the vote. Less than thirty days after being sworn in, Mayor Helmer rehired police officers that were laid off by the prior administration.

Education

Most of Prospect Heights is served by the Prospect Heights School District 23, which contains four schools:
Other districts that serve portions of Prospect Heights include:
Township High School District 214 serves Prospect Heights. Students attend either Wheeling High School or John Hersey High School. Those in District 23's area will attend either. Those in District 21's area will attend Wheeling and those in District 26's area will attend Hersey.
Private education in Prospect Heights is St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Parish and St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights.

Transportation

In addition to PACE buses, Prospect Heights is serviced by two Metra lines, with service to Union Station from a station on the North Central Service, while the Union Pacific / Northwest Line has two stations nearby.

Notable people