Facts & Statistics
A Quick Overview
Welcome to Chicago The third largest urban area within the United States, with a 3 million.
Chicago is the home of…
- 2,716,450 residents
- 50-year-olds and upwards
- 77 community zones
- 100 neighborhoods
- 8 major league sports teams including two MLB teams.
- United States President Barack Obama
Chicago is a well-known melting pot…
- 36 parades annually
- 40 film festivals per year
- 74 music festivals
- Professional dancers from 200 companies
- There are more than 200 cinemas
- Live music in 250 venues
- 40+ film festivals per year
- Twenty-plus film and director non-profit organizations
- 12+ art cinemas, independent and house
- 13,000 film and television production jobs
- 400+ films and TV productions
(Sources DCASE Choose Chicago)
Chicago is an American city set in the landscape…
- 600 parks
- 500 playgrounds
- 70 bird and nature sanctuary
- 307 fields of soccer football, lacrosse, and much more
- 250 field houses
- 534 tennis courts, and 6 courts indoors
- 80 pools for swimming
- 29 beaches
- 26 miles of lakefront open
(Source: Park District)
Chicago is a bike-friendly city…
- Chicago has the second highest proportion of commuters who ride bicycles to commute
- Cycling commute times in the region average just 23 minutes
- 303 miles of bicycle lanes
- 19,3 km of waterfront bicycle trails along Lake Michigan
- 303 miles of bike paths
- More than 13,000 bike racks
- A 40-acre bike trail to BMX and trail-riding
(Source DPD)
Chicago is a culinary destination…
- There are more than 7300 restaurant locations
- Seven AAA Diamond-rated eateries
- 26 Michelin-starred restaurants
- The James Beard Awards have awarded 40 eateries, and hosts each year’s James Beard Awards
- 54 Bib Gourmand winners
- 144 dog-friendly restaurants
Sports A City for Sports Fans
As as Chicagoans love to play sports, we also like to watch professional athletes do it. Chicago was named as one of”the” Best Sports City by Sporting News three times. It has also been a part of TSE’s international Ranking of Sport Cities every year since 2012.
Greatest Chicago Sport Moments
1837 1837: Invention of Softball
1905: Chicago White Sox win World Series
1907: Chicago Cubs win World Series
1908: Chicago Cubs win World Series
1917. Chicago White Sox win World Series
1935: Chicago Cubs secure a record for the third longest unbeaten MLB streak, with 21 consecutive victories.
1935. Chicago born Jay Berwanger was the first to win the Heisman Trophy.
1977: Walter Payton Sets Record
1986: Chicago Bears win Super Bowl
1991-93 Chicago Bulls, 3peat
1996-98 Chicago Bulls, 3peat
1998: Chicago Fire wins MLS Cup
2005: Chicago White Sox win the World Series and break 88-year title drought
2010. Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship
2012. Chicago Red Stars win National Women’s Open
2013. Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship
2015. Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship
2016 2016: Chicago Cubs win World Series and end a 108-year drought and ended the “Curse of the Billy Goat”
Sport Locations
- Wrigley Field – Lake View
- GuaranteedRate Field (Formerly Comiskey Park) – Bridgeport
- Soldier Field – South Loop
- United Center United Center Near West Side
- Wintrust Arena – Near South Side
- Toyota Park – McKinley Park
Major League
- Chicago Cubs – baseball
- Chicago Bears – football
- Chicago Bulls – basketball
- Chicago White Sox – baseball
- Chicago Blackhawks – hockey
- Chicago Fire – soccer
- Chicago Sky – basketball
- Chicago Red Stars – soccer
NCAA
- DePaul Blue Demons
- Loyola Ramblers
- Chicago State Cougars
- UIC Flames
A melting pot of art & Culture
Dance
More the 200 top professional dance groups which include dance companies like the Joffrey Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Chicago delivers an array of events on stages in the downtown area as well as in parks and neighborhood venues. Chicago is the home of a hip-hop movement that is influential and has also spawned innovative dance styles and music like Chicago the juke and footwork. For over two years, Chicago has hosted Chicago SummerDance the largest annual outdoor dance event throughout the U.S. Don’t forget that every April is “Chicago Dance Month’ in the city.
(Source DCASE)
Film
Affordable, top-quality staff and talent, as well as modern facilities and suppliers have created Chicago an area of excellence for TV and film that dates all the way to The Blues Brother. Some notable studios include Cinespace Studios, which is the biggest North American soundstage outside of L.A and Music Box Films, one of the largest distributors of foreign-language films and documentary films across the U.S. For those who love films there’s the no-cost Millennium Park Summer Film Series and all-year-round film festivals such as Chicago International Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Latino, Black Harvest, Reeling (LGBTQ), Underground, Midwest Independent, and Children’s International film festival.
- 40+ film festivals per year
- Film and film organizations with 20+ members. non-profit organizations
- 12+ art cinemas and independent cinemas
(Source DCASE)
Music
Chicago is the home of gospel, electric blues the juke, house, footwork and drill. The unique sounds created in Chicago remain a constant source of inspiration for musicians all over the globe. Chicago is also home to world-renowned artists such as Louis Armstrong, Jennifer Hudson, Earth, Wind and Fire, Chance the Rapper, Common Smashing Pumpkins, Rise Against, Muddy Waters as well as Kanye West. Chicago can be described as a place that is of festivals, which celebrates every genre of music. Explore Chicago’s most renowned music festivals like those like the Chicago Blues Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest.
- Live music in 250 venues, including the famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera as well as Joffrey Ballet.
- The 74 festivals of music include the Chicago Blues Festival, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza
- Thalia Hall – Pilsen
- Vic Theater – Lakeview
- Riviera Theater Uptown
- House of Blues – River North
- Green Mill – Uptown
- Aragon Ballroom – Uptown
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Downtown
- Created by Chicago: World Class Jazz
- Ravinia Festival
- Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
- Metro – Lakeview Metro – Lakeview
(Sources DCASE. ChooseChicago)
Theatre
Chicago is the capital of theatre in America. U.S.– birthplace of theatre in storefronts and improv comedy, host to long-running Broadway productions and the most world-premieres of any city in America. The city’s theatre companies, which number more than 250, are on stage in over 200 theaters to present work that is as diverse and varied as their audience. Theater-goers can select from thousands of shows each year which range that ranges from Shakespeare to variety, and in numerous languages. From the grand, historic theatres in downtown to those hidden behind a storefront in the neighborhood or in a church basement, patrons will find theater with the best quality across the city. Discover the more than 150 buildings that offer behind-the-scenes tours.
(Sources, DCASE, ChooseChicago)
Long-Staying Chicago Theaters
- Second City – Old Town
- Music Box Theater – Lake View
- Goodman Theater – Loop
- Chicago Theater Loop Loop
- Mayne Stage – Rogers Park
- Lifeline Theater – Rogers Park
- Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theater Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theater Boystown
- Apollo 2000 (Formerly Marshal Square Theater) Little Village Little Village
- Gateway Theater The Gateway Theater Jefferson Park
- Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Victory Gardens Theatre
- Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
- Lookingglass Theatre Company
A Garden in a City
The appeal of Chicago is not just found in its stunning architecture however, it is also evident in its vast, open and green spaces that are preserved. Chicagoans have more than 580 parks as well as 8,300 acres of green space available to them. With ice skating rinks, beaches and bike trails it’s not hard to find recreational activities outdoors for Chicagoans.
Parks district – https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/
(Sources: DPD, Park District)
606/Bloomingdale Trail
A $95 million upgrade of the former rail line into an 2.7-mile elevated area that stretches through four lively, Chicago neighborhoods. A new expansion will add 32 acres of park land on the Chicago River, 10 acres of fields for sports and recreation as well as seventeen acres of wetland parks.
Chicago Riverwalk
The award-winning $108 million project is a 1.25-mile promenade that runs along the southern bank of Chicago River downtown. The future expansion plans will take the Riverwalk south by an further 1.8 miles stretching from Lake Street to Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown.
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park, on Chicago’s North Side, attracts 20 million visitors each year. Visitors come to the oldest zoo in America, explore exotic plants in the magnificent Victorian glass conservatory, take in performances in the outdoor theater as well as row through the canal, walk around the North Pond Nature Sanctuary and Butterfly conservatory, take a picnic on the fields of play, and play on North Avenue Beach.
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is the most popular tourist attraction in Chicago and throughout the Midwest in the year 2017, Millennium Park offers 25 acres of stunning architecture, tranquil landscapes, majestic pavilions and stunning fountains that shape water and light, as well as pathways for walking. Millennium Park is home to an ever-changing program of cultural events that are free for everyone all through the year.
Jackson Park
Jackson Park offers more than 500 acres of parkland that runs along the lakefront including flowers, watercourses, wooded isles, sporting facilities as well as stocked fish ponds. 18 miles of hiking and biking routes, and is the proposed location of the Barack Obama White House Center.
Most Stunning Bike City of America
Chicago is ranked as America’s Top Bike City in a survey conducted by Bicycling Magazine in 2016. Chicago’s determination to invest into better bicycle infrastructure has made biking safer and more accessible for everyone in Chicago regardless of age or level.
In 2011, Chicago was added to the…
- Over 115 miles secured bike paths
- The network stretches for 303 miles
- There are 255 miles of street bike lanes
- 5 miles of trails off-street.