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Entries : Rockdale, IL
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Rockdale, IL

Rockdale, IL

Will County, 36 miles SW of the Loop. Originally settled by Slovenian and Lithuanian immigrants in the nineteenth century, Rockdale now includes a significant Hispanic population. Combining residences and industry, Rockdale incorporated in 1903. During the 1930s, the United States Navy built ships there along the Des Plaines River. More recently, the creation of the Des Plaines River Valley Enterprise Zone provided tax breaks for corporations to relocate in the area. The population in 2000 was 1,888.


Rockdale, IL (inc. 1903)
Year Total
(and by category)
  Foreign Born Native with foreign parentage Males per 100 females
1930 1,701   28.7% 50.3% 115
  1,591 White (93.5%)      
1960 1,272   104
  1,272 White (100.0%)      
1990 1,709   5.3% 95
  1,550 White (90.7%)      
  4 Black (0.2%)      
  4 American Indian (0.2%)      
  5 Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%)      
  146 Other race (8.5%)      
  252 Hispanic Origin* (14.7%)      
2000 1,888   9.2% 101
  1,565 White alone (82.9%)      
  16 Black or African American alone (0.8%)      
  9 American Indian and Alaska Native alone (0.5%)      
  7 Asian alone (0.4%)      
  205 Some other race alone (10.9%)      
  86 Two or more races (4.6%)      
  415 Hispanic or Latino* (22.0%)