# Matteson, Illinois

Matteson (/ˈmætɪsən/) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.
Matteson is located in Chicago's Southland area. The village is home to multiple warehouse facilities, a large commercial corridor, and housed the now-demolished Lincoln Mall. There are currently plans to redevelop the mall property into a mixed-use complex. The village is served by two stations on the Metra Electric District's main line; Matteson station and 211th Street station.

## History

The area encompassed by modern Matteson was settled in the late 1800s, primarily by people of German descent. Platted in 1855, Matteson had nearly 500 residents when it incorporated as a village in 1889. The village's namesake is Joel Aldrich Matteson, who served as Illinois' tenth governor from 1853 to 1857. The 20th century saw improvements in plumbing, the electrification of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the construction of today's school district, resulting in significant population growth to more than 3,000 residents by the end of the 1960s. By 2000, Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall (opened 1973) and annexed 195 acres of land for the village. Today, Matteson is home to nearly 20,000 residents, hundreds of businesses, and the close proximity of two major hospitals.
By 1995, African-Americans made up a significant portion of Matteson's residential population. The village launched a program to encourage potential homeowners identifying as European-American to move to the village. Instead by 2011 the community had attracted many well-to-do African-Americans, many of whom had been previously based in Chicago. The village simultaneously recorded increases in the average household incomes in several census tracts. Between 2000-2010, Matteson's African-American population increased by roughly 85% while its European-American population declined by about 1,200.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Matteson has a total area of 9.32 square miles (24.14 km$^2$), of which 9.29 square miles (24.06 km$^2$) (or 99.64%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km$^2$) (or 0.36%) is water. The village's topography is mostly flat.
Matteson is bordered by Park Forest and Olympia Fields to the east, Country Club Hills and Tinley Park to the north, Frankfort to the west, and Richton Park to the south.

## Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 19,073 people, 7,628 households, and 4,454 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,046.68 inhabitants per square mile (790.23/km$^2$). There were 7,457 housing units at an average density of 800.19 per square mile (308.96/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the village was 82.60% African American, 10.04% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.29% from other races, and 3.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.21% of the population.
There were 7,628 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.53% were married couples living together, 14.25% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.61% were non-families. 38.37% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.89% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 2.52.
The village's age distribution consisted of 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $84,611, and the median income for a family was $111,754. Males had a median income of $62,165 versus $40,552 for females. The per capita income for the village was $38,867. About 7.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Matteson village, 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) | 4,031 | 2,784 | 1,831 | 31.18% | 14.65% | 9.60% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 8,033 | 14,833 | 15,641 | 62.14% | 78.03% | 82.01% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 11 | 13 | 19 | 0.09% | 0.07% | 0.10% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 198 | 187 | 185 | 1.53% | 0.98% | 0.97% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0.00% | 0.04% | 0.01% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 22 | 45 | 97 | 0.17% | 0.24% | 0.51% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 197 | 326 | 495 | 1.52% | 1.71% | 2.60% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 436 | 813 | 803 | 3.37% | 4.28% | 4.21% |
| Total | 12,928 | 19,009 | 19,073 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |

## Economy

Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall, which was located at Cicero Avenue and US Highway 30. Once one of the Chicago Southland's major regional shopping centers, Lincoln Mall experienced a protracted decline beginning in the 1990s and closed on January 7, 2015. Demolition of the mall site commenced in May 2017. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration operates its Midwestern Region Service Center in this area and Valspar operates a paint manufacturing facility in Matteson.

## Government

Matteson is in Illinois's 2nd congressional district.
Matteson's sister city is Pune, India.

## Transportation

The Matteson station, which opened in 1863, and the 211th Street station both serve Matteson. Metra commuter rail trains on the Metra Electric District travel north to Millennium station and south to University Park station. Pace provides bus service on Route 357 connecting Matteson to destinations across the Southland.
* US 30 (Lincoln Highway) The village’s major east-west thoroughfare
* I-57 The village’s major north-south thoroughfare
* IL 50 (Cicero Avenue) the village’s second north-south thoroughfare
* IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) On the western corner of the village.

## Education

Matteson is home to three school districts. Matteson School District 159 and Matteson School District 162 serve separate portions of Matteson for grades PK-8. All of Matteson is within the Rich Township High School District 227.
Matteson School District 162
Elementary
* Arcadia
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Matteson
* Richton Square
* Sauk
Middle
* O.W. Huth
Matteson School District 159
Middle
* Colin Powell
Elementary
* Marya Yates
* Sieden Prairie
* Woodgate
Rich Township High School, the only public high school operated by the high school district, serves Matteson. Previously Matteson was divided between the attendance boundaries of Rich Central High School and Rich South High School.
Residents of the village may also attend Southland College Preparatory Charter High School.
The Matteson Area Public Library District serves the community. Its current library opened in 1993. An addition with 7,500 square feet (700 m$^2$) of space opened in 2015, bringing the total space to 30,300 square feet (2,810 m$^2$).

## Notable people

* Jon Asamoah, former NFL player, recently played for the Atlanta Falcons during the 2014-2015 season.
* Dreezy, Rapper, lived on and off in Matteson.
* Kendall Gill, former professional basketball player, grew up in Matteson.
* Robin Kelly, Congresswoman for Illinois’ 2nd congressional district, lives in Matteson.
* Sir Michael Rocks, Rapper
* Tyler Ulis, Professional basketball player
* Gerald Walker, Rapper, grew up in Matteson.
* Charles Brewster Wheeler, U.S. Army brigadier general, born in Matteson