Chicago City Wire

Hispanic students were the most represented ethnicity among students at Cook County universities in the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest disclosure from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Of the 188,745 students attending institutions in the county at the time, 33.7% were Hispanic. This is an increase of 3.2% in enrollment numbers, compared to the previous year.

White students comprised the second largest ethnic group in the county, followed by Black or African American students.

Countywide, the number of undergraduates attending the 79 universities in the county during the 2022-23 school year grew by 0.2%. University of Illinois Chicago reported the largest student body, with 21,807 students.

Graduation rates reveal a significant achievement gap among different ethnicities. While white students graduate at a rate of 62.1%, Black and Hispanic students graduate at a rate of around 40%.

Ethnic Group	% of Total Student Body
Hispanic	33.7%
White	30.2%
Black or African American	14.9%
Asian	10.3%
U.S. nonresident	4.3%
Multiracial	3.3%
Unknown	3.1%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	0.1%
American Indian or Alaskan Native	0.1%