Kankakee

History

The city's name is probably derived from a corrupted version of the Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning "open country/exposed land/land in open/land exposed to view", in reference to the area's prior status as a marsh. Kankakee was founded in 1854.

On March 10, 2026, a high-end EF3 tornado struck the south side of Kankakee, with winds up to 160 miles per hour.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Kankakee had a population of 24,052 and 9,204 households, including 5,627 families.

The population density was 1,548.25 inhabitants per square mile (597.78/km2). There were 10,600 housing units, of which 13.2% were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.1%.

The median age was 36.6 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 9.1% were from 18 to 24, 27.5% were from 25 to 44, 23.6% were from 45 to 64, and 15.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.4 males age 18 and over.

Of the city's 9,204 households, 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 30.2% were married-couple households, 23.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 38.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.7% of households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

About 99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

Parks and recreation

Kankakee Valley Park District

Kankakee Valley Park District has 37 parks, comprising a total of 600 acres (2.4 km2). Facilities include an indoor ice skating rink, a recreation center, dog park, campground and a 72 boat slip marina on the Kankakee River. Fishing is plentiful as the district has 13 riverfront parks as well as a 5-acre (2.0 ha) stocked quarry.