Elmhurst is a western suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 45,786 at the 2020 census.
History
thumb|left|Elmhurst Station ca. 1890s
Members of the Potawatomi Native American people, who settled along Salt Creek just south of where the city would develop, are the earliest known settlers of the Elmhurst area. Around 1836, European-American immigrants settled on tracts of land along the same creek. At what would become Elmhurst City Centre, a native of Ohio named Gerry Bates established a community on a tract of "treeless land" in 1842. Bryan (often referred to as the "Father of Elmhurst") played an important role in the development of the town, and has been as the one responsible for renaming the town.
Elmhurst was incorporated as a village in 1882,
The Keebler Company's corporate headquarters was in Elmhurst until 2001, when the Kellogg Company purchased the company. The city is home to the headquarters of Sunshine Biscuits and McMaster-Carr Supply Co.
In 2014, Family Circle magazine ranked Elmhurst as one of the "Ten Best U.S. Towns for Families".
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Elmhurst has a total area of , of which (or 99.42%) is land and (or 0.58%) is water.
Due to local topography, the town has had a tendency to flood in the past after large rainfalls; the city is currently undertaking a large effort to mitigate future flooding.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Elmhurst city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|38,706
|37,549
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35,971
|90.51%
|85.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.56%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|388
|815
|style='background: #ffffe6; |931
|0.91%
|1.85%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.03%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|17
|27
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41
|0.04%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|1,562
|2,244
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,942
|3.65%
|5.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.43%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|7
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.02%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|26
|42
|style='background: #ffffe6; |148
|0.06%
|0.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.32%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|339
|542
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,477
|0.79%
|1.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.23%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|1,717
|2,898
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,269
|4.02%
|6.57%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.32%
|-
|Total
|42,762
|44,121
|style='background: #ffffe6; |45,786
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Elmhurst had a population of 45,786. The population density was . There were 17,260 housing units at an average density of ; 5.5% were vacant, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 2.5% and a rental vacancy rate of 7.5%.
There were 16,317 households, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 61.7% were married-couple households, 12.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older; 12,110 were families.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 36,844 || 80.5%
|-
| Black or African American || 982 || 2.1%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 120 || 0.3%
|-
| Asian || 2,982 || 6.5%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 8 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 1,338 || 2.9%
|-
| Two or more races || 3,512 || 7.7%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 4,269 || 9.3%
|}
Income
The median income for a household in the city was $123,869, and the median income for a family was $148,663. Males had a median income of $83,584 versus $46,935 for females. The per capita income for the city was $59,911. About 2.1% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Top employers
According to Elmhurst's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
| 1
| Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare
|2,800
|-
|2
| Elmhurst CUSD 205
|1,174
|-
|3
| McMaster-Carr Supply Company
|800
|-
|4
| Elmhurst University
|688
|-
|5
| Brandenburg Industrial Service Co
|300
|-
|6
| Semblex Corporation
|300
|-
|7
| City of Elmhurst
|291
|-
|8
| FedEx Freight
|200
|-
|9
| Superior Ambulance
|200
|-
|10
| Power Distributing, LLC
|180
|}
Arts and culture
- The Theatre Historical Society of America is focused on the preservation of dance, opera, and movie theaters and includes a collection of objects from many theaters that are no longer in existence. Among the items on display is a scale model of the 1927 Avalon Theater (now known as the New Regal Theater).
- Wilder Park Conservatory
- A limestone quarry covering about is located half a mile west of downtown along West Avenue and 1st Street. A tunnel from Salt Creek diverts water into the quarry in case of a flood. The Salt Creek Trail is also accessible from the area. The quarry is an important piece of DuPage County's stormwater management system, and can hold up to of stormwater.
- Each spring, the company RGL Marketing for the Arts runs the event, Art in Wilder Park. The event takes place in centrally located Wilder Park, which is also home to the Wilder Mansion, the Elmhurst Public Library, the Wilder Park Conservatory and the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art. The event "features of a juried show of fine arts, crafts and original creations of over 100 artists, including jewelry, glass, ceramics, painting, wood, photography, sculpture, paper and mixed media." The event also hosts live music and entertainment and over 40 food vendors.
- Elmhurst is home to multiple residential homes built by significant architects, including but not limited to Mies van der Rohe (McCormick House), Frank Lloyd Wright (F.B. Henderson House), Walter Burley Griffin (William H. Emery House, Sloane House), and R. Harold Zook.
Government
thumb|The [[F.B. Henderson House in Elmhurst was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1901.]]
Timeline for Elmhurst's leadership:
- 1882 - Incorporated as a village in June.
- 1882 - Henry Glos elected as first village president.
- 1887 - Peter Wolf elected as village president.
- 1902 - Edwin Heidemann elected as village president.
- 1905 - Henry C. Schumacher elected as village president.
- 1908 - C. J. Albert elected as village president.
- 1910 - Adopted city form of government.
- 1910 - Henry C. Schumacher elected as first city mayor.
- 1912 - F. W. M. Hammerschmidt elected as mayor.
- 1919 - Otto Balgemann elected as mayor.
- 1931 - Edward Blatter elected as mayor.
- 1933 - Claude Van Auken elected as mayor.
- 1945 - William S. Fellows elected as mayor.
- 1951 - Ervin F. Wilson elected as mayor.
- 1957 - Benjamin Allison elected as mayor.
- 1961 - Charles Weigel elected as mayor.
- 1973 - Ray W. Fick Jr. elected as mayor.
- 1977 - Abner Ganet elected as mayor.
- 1985 - Robert J. Quinn elected as mayor.
- 1989 - Charles H. Garrigues elected as mayor.
- 1993 - Thomas D. Marcucci elected as mayor.
- 2009 - Peter P. DiCianni elected as mayor.
- 2013 - Steven Morley elected as mayor.
- 2021 - Scott M. Levin elected as mayor.
Education
right|thumb|The [[Hauptgebaude|Old Main building at Elmhurst University dates to 1878.]]
Elmhurst University is a local college of the area. It is a four-year private liberal arts college affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
School districts serving Elmhurst include:
- Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 serves most of the city; its high school is York Community High School
- Salt Creek School District 48
- DuPage High School District 88
- Hillside School District 93 serves the Cook County portion; in 1953 this portion had 45 houses
- Students at Hillside 93 move on to Proviso West High School of the Proviso Township High Schools District 209
Private schools:
Former services
Elmhurst was previously served by the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, an electric interurban rail line. The station opened in 1902 as "South Elmhurst" until being renamed to "York St." The station closed in 1959 after the CA&E ceased operations. The Illinois Prairie Path now runs over the former line.
The Chicago Great Western also served Elmhurst. It had commuter rail between Grand Central Station and DeKalb until 1906.