Kankakee, IL Metro Area
The Kankakee, IL metro area is one county in Illinois: Kankakee County. About 105,525 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 2.0% fewer than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 105,525 2.0% fewer than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- County
- Kankakee County
- Land area
- 676 sq mi (1,752 km²)
- Time zone
- Central TimeUTC-06:00 in January; UTC-05:00 in July
- State
- Illinois
- Combined statistical area
- Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
- CBSA code
- 28100
The county in the Kankakee, IL metro area
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Kankakee County | Central | 105,525 |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. This area has no outlying counties: no neighboring county sends enough commuters to join it. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- Kankakee23,996 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Part of the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI combined statistical area
OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 4 areas in this one, largest first:
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area9,434,123 people
- Kenosha, WI Metro Area168,448 people
- Ottawa, IL Micro Area145,902 people
- Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area111,294 people
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Pontiac, IL Micro Area43 mi west
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area52 mi north
- Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area72 mi south
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.