# Palos Hills, Illinois

Palos Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The city was established in 1958 and had reached a population of 18,530 in the 2020 census. It is named after Palos de la Frontera, Spain, from which Christopher Columbus set sail to North America. Moraine Valley Community College as and Amos Alonzo Stagg High School are its main schools.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Palos Hills has a total area of 4.29 square miles (11.11 km$^2$), of which 4.25 square miles (11.01 km$^2$) (or 98.97%) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km$^2$) (or 1.03%) is water.

## Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 18,530 people, 7,247 households, and 4,209 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,319.35 inhabitants per square mile (1,667.71/km$^2$). There were 7,697 housing units at an average density of 1,794.17 per square mile (692.73/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 81.70% White, 5.77% African American, 0.18% Native American, 2.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.39% from other races, and 6.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.19% of the population.
The top reported ancestries as of 2020 were Polish (29.3%), German (12.7%), Irish (12.6%), Arab (9.6%), and Italian (8.3%).
There were 7,247 households, out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.63% were married couples living together, 10.17% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.92% were non-families. 36.35% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.01% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 2.34.
The city's age distribution consisted of 18.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $64,364, and the median income for a family was $81,045. Males had a median income of $57,339 versus $37,926 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,564. About 9.3% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Palos Hills city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 14,897 | 14,591 | 14,729 | 84.33% | 83.45% | 79.49% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 960 | 926 | 1,040 | 5.43% | 5.30% | 5.61% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 12 | 14 | 9 | 0.07% | 0.08% | 0.05% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 468 | 450 | 392 | 2.65% | 2.57% | 2.12% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 19 | 14 | 85 | 0.11% | 0.00% | 0.46% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 453 | 193 | 386 | 2.56% | 1.10% | 2.08% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 854 | 1,292 | 1,889 | 4.83% | 7.39% | 10.19% |
| Total | 17,665 | 17,484 | 18,530 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |

## Government

Palos Hills is in Illinois's 3rd congressional district.
The City of Palos Hills operates under a Mayor/Council form of government with a Mayor, Clerk and City Treasurer elected at large and 10 Aldermen elected from 5 dual member wards.
* Mayor Gerald R. Bennett
* City Clerk Rudy Mulderink
* City Treasurer Kenneth Nolan.
Aldermen:
* Ward 1: Martin Kleefisch and Michael Price
* Ward 2: Pauline Stratton and Mark Brachman
* Ward 3: A.J. Pasek and Michael Lebarre
* Ward 4: Joseph Marrotta and Phil Abed
* Ward 5: Dawn Nowak and Donna O'Connel
North Palos Fire Protection District operates Station 1 and Station 2 in Palos Hills.

## Education

Elementary school districts serving Palos Hills:
* North Palos School District 117
* Palos School District 118
** All sections are zoned to Palos South Middle School in Palos Park. Currently sections of Palos Hills in District 118 are divided between Palos East Elementary in Palos Heights and Palos West Elementary in Palos Park. Prior to 2016-2017 all of the District 118 portion of Palos Hills was in the Palos East zone.
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School of the Consolidated High School District 230 serves Palos Hills.
There is also a private PK - 8 school in Palos Hills called Koraes Elementary School.
Moraine Valley Community College is the area community college.

## Transportation

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Palos Hills to destinations across the Southland.

## Notable people

* Leslie Cichocki, Paralympic swimmer
* Nick Drnaso, cartoonist and illustrator
* Christian Dvorak, professional ice hockey player
* Katie Eberling, bobsledder
* Tim Kopinski, tennis player
* T. J. McFarland, professional baseball pitcher
* Nadeshot, content creator, founder of 100 Thieves and former professional Call of Duty player
* Herb Schumann, former Cook County commissioner
* Ben Skora, inventor who specialized in robotics and home automation
* Anne S. Zickus, businesswoman and former Illinois House of Representatives member