Illinois
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After most of the French had left Illinois following the French and Indian War (1754–63), English settlers and colonists from Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky moved in. People from New England and New York arrived by way of the Great Lakes or the Cumberland (National) Road. When the United States experienced great waves of European immigration beginning in the 1840s, large numbers of Germans and Irish arrived in northern Illinois; and, from the 1880s until World War I, immigrants came from Poland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Russia. In 1910 Germans ranked first in number among the foreign-born and Austrians and Hungarians second, followed by Russians, Scandinavians, Irish, and Italians. Although the Jewish population had become well established in the 19th century, its numbers swelled further prior to World War II, particularly in the Chicago area. Following the war, whites from Appalachia and Native Americans sought employment in the cities. More-recent immigrants have tended to come from diverse origins, with Asians and Hispanics constituting increasingly influential sectors of the population.

African Americans have lived in Illinois since the first slaves were brought there in 1719, but their numbers remained low until the American Civil War (1861–65). In 1870 blacks numbered 29,000, and by 1910 migrant blacks had settled in the southern counties and totaled 109,000. With World War I there began the Great Migration—a steady flow of African Americans from the South to the major industrial centres of the North. By the early 21st century African Americans made up about one-sixth of the population of Illinois, with four-fifths living in Chicago and Cook county. A growing Hispanic population comprised another one-sixth of the state's population, and Asian Americans constituted a smaller fraction.

The religious diversity in Illinois reflects the different origins of the people themselves. In the early 1800s Methodist circuit riders nourished tiny congregations throughout Illinois, and Methodists remain strong today. The Irish, some Germans, and later southern and eastern Europeans brought the Roman Catholic faith to the larger cities, and the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Chicago is the country's second largest in membership. Also serving the city are scores of Protestant churches, Eastern Orthodox churches, and Jewish synagogues. Muslims, Buddhists, and followers of Baha'i also have centres of worship.

Illinois has population characteristics similar to those of the country as a whole: cities continue to lose whites to suburban areas, while both the number and proportion of African Americans and Latinos within the larger cities have increased.

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