HomeIllinoisCook CountyBlue Island
Blue Island, Illinois: commercial real estate data.
Blue Island is a Census city of 21,741 people across 4.07 square miles of land, in Cook County. Median household income is $59,489, 51.8 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 25 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $11.8 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Blue Island
What Blue Island is
- Census place typecity
- Land area4.07 sq mi
- Water area0.09 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land5,340
- County holding the largest share of its areaCook County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Blue Island
How many people live in Blue Island
- Population21,741
- Median age38.1
- Population under 184,411
- Share under 1820.3 percent
- Population 65 and over3,157
- Share 65 and over14.5 percent
- Households8,464
- Family households4,860
- Share of households that are families57.4 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Blue Island
Income and work in Blue Island
- Median household income$59,489
- Per capita income$28,709
- Civilian labor force11,618
- Employed9,820
- Unemployed1,798 plus or minus 517
- Unemployment rate15.5 percent plus or minus 4.4
- Adults 25 and over15,283
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher80.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher20.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree7.4 percent plus or minus 2.4
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Blue Island
Housing in Blue Island
- Housing units8,997
- Occupied units8,464
- Vacant units533 plus or minus 188
- Vacancy rate5.9 percent plus or minus 2.1
- Owner occupied4,383
- Renter occupied4,081
- Ownership rate51.8 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$178,700
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,072
- Annual rent as a share of median income21.6 percent
- Single family units4,389
- Share single family48.8 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more4,134
- Share in buildings of two or more45.9 percent
- Mobile homes474 plus or minus 167
- Median year structure built1961
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Blue Island
How Blue Island gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute8,614
- Commuting under 15 minutes1,705
- Share commuting under 15 minutes19.8 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more4,039
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more46.9 percent
- Drove alone68.6 percent
- Carpooled11.9 percent plus or minus 4.1
- Public transport7.5 percent plus or minus 3.6
- Walked1.2 percent plus or minus 1.2
- Worked from home8.2 percent plus or minus 2.8
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Blue Island
SBA loans in Blue Island (7(a))
- Approvals25
- Gross approval$11,818,400
- Average approval$472,736
- Median approval$135,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,165,000
- Largest approval$3,345,000
- Jobs supported238
- Jobs per approval9.5
- Loans with a final outcome3
- Paid in full3
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more20.0 percent
- Share to franchises0.0 percent
- Distinct lenders10
- Distinct industries by NAICS13
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Blue Island, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 3 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Blue Island
SBA loans in Blue Island (504)
- Approvals7
- Gross approval$3,488,000
- Average approval$498,286
- Median approval$325,000
- Largest approval$1,153,000
- Jobs supported183
- Loans with a final outcome1
- Charged off0
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs3
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Blue Island, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 1 loan has reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Blue Island
Flood risk in Blue Island
- NFIP communityCity of Blue Island
- NFIP community number170064
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date08/19/08
The City of Blue Island participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 170064 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Cook County, not Blue Island
Cook County context, not Blue Island figures
- Establishments in Cook County134,513
- Covered employment, Cook County2,565,567
- Average annual pay, Cook County$86,931
- Housing units permitted, Cook County6,507
Every figure in this section is published for Cook County as a whole and is not a measurement of Blue Island.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Blue Island questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Blue Island, Illinois?
21,741, in 8,464 households. Blue Island city covers 4.07 square miles of land, which is 5,340 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Blue Island in?
Cook County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Blue Island?
$59,489. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $178,700. Median gross rent is $1,072 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Blue Island businesses?
25 7(a) approvals totaling $11.8 m since FY2020, across 10 lenders, median approval $135,000, plus 7 504 approvals worth $3.5 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Blue Island, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Blue Island borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Blue Island. Only 3 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Blue Island in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Blue Island appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Blue Island, city of, community 170064, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Blue Island figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Cook County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Blue Island.
Is zoning published for Blue Island?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.