Dolton (pronounced “DAWL-ton”) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,153 at the 2010 census.[3] Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. Its most common ZIP code is 60419.
Dolton is bordered by Chicago to the north, Riverdale and Harvey to the west, South Holland to the south and Calumet City to the east.
A post office has been in operation in Dolton since 1854.[4] The village was named for a family of early settlers.
Dolton is located at 41°37′39″N 87°35′55″W (41.627509, -87.598512).
According to the 2010 census, Dolton has a total area of 4.68 square miles (12.12 km2), of which 4.56 square miles (11.81 km2) (or 97.44%) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.31 km2) (or 2.56%) is water.
| Historical population | |||
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 448 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,110 | 147.8% | |
| 1900 | 1,229 | 10.7% | |
| 1910 | 1,869 | 52.1% | |
| 1920 | 2,076 | 11.1% | |
| 1930 | 2,923 | 40.8% | |
| 1940 | 3,058 | 4.6% | |
| 1950 | 5,338 | 74.6% | |
| 1960 | 18,746 | 251.2% | |
| 1970 | 25,937 | 38.4% | |
| 1980 | 24,766 | −4.5% | |
| 1990 | 23,956 | −3.3% | |
| 2000 | 25,614 | 6.9% | |
| 2010 | 23,153 | −9.6% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 22,348 | [2] | −3.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] | |||
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 25,614 people, 8,512 households, and 6,494 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,627.6 people per square mile (2,173.5/km2). There were 8,944 housing units at an average density of 1,965.1 per square mile (759.0/km2). For 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 91.0% African American, 6.2% White, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 2.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population.
There were 8,512 households, out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $48,020, and the median income for a family was $52,725. Males had a median income of $38,646 versus $31,773 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,102. About 6.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Dolton is in Illinois’ 2nd congressional district and the 15th State Senate District. Approximately 3/4 of the village is within the Illinois Legislature’s 29th Representative District, with the remainder in the 30th district. The village is split evenly between the Cook County Judicial Circuit 1st Subcircuit and 2nd Subcircuit.
Most of the village is part of the Dolton Park District, with a small portion served by the Calumet Memorial Park District. The entire village is part of the Dolton Public Library District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Dolton is served primarily by Dolton School District 148 and Dolton School District 149. A small portion of the village is within South Holland School District 151. High school students are served by Thornton Township High School District Number 205, which operates Thornridge High School in Dolton.
The entire village is part of South Suburban Community College District 510.
Dolton is the hometown of former NFL star Donovan McNabb, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper co-host Richard Roeper, actress Jane Lynch, news anchor Susan Carlson, writer Mac Gretz and Los Angeles Times editor-in-chief Jim Kirk. William Shaw, Illinois state legislator, served as mayor of Dolton.[11] Nelsan Ellis, who played Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood, grew up there.[12] R. Bruce Waddell, Illinois state representative and businessman, was born in Dolton.