The village was incorporated in 1884, at which time it had a population of 400. The community itself was originally named Dunkley's Grove after the settler Hezekiah Dunklee, and was renamed after a town in England or Addison, New York. In 1832, Winfield Scott built Army Trail Road on top of a Potawatomi trail in Addison, in order to allow 50 broad-tired wagons to fight Black Hawk and his warriors. In 1864, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod moved its teacher training to the village from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and established the Addison Teachers Seminary; it remained in Addison until 1913, when it was relocated to River Forest, Illinois, as Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University Chicago). The town was also home to the Kinderheim home for children, which made up more than half its population prior to suburbanization.
The town began to suburbanize in the 1960s when developers started to build homes on what was farmland. The population grew from just under a thousand in 1930 to 35,000 people in 1990.
Adventureland amusement park was located in Addison (Lake and Medinah) during the 1960s and 1970s. The Addison Industrial District was the proposed location for the reconstruction of Comiskey Park in the late 1980s before this was voted down.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Addison has a total area of 10.00 square miles (25.90km2), of which 9.83 square miles (25.46km2) (or 98.29%) is land and 0.17 square miles (0.44km2) (or 1.71%) is water.
Addison village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2020 census, Addison had a population of 35,702. There were 9,165 families residing in the village, and the population density was 3,570.20 inhabitants per square mile (1,378.46/km2). The median age was 38.1 years; 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.2 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 12,296 households in Addison, of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.6% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 12,682 housing units at an average density of 1,268.20 per square mile (489.65/km2), of which 3.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%.
Income and poverty
The median income for a household in the village was $68,534, and the median income for a family was $79,011. Males had a median income of $42,038 versus $30,828 for females. The per capita income for the village was $30,202. About 10.3% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Addison’s economy is supported by a mix of logistics, manufacturing, food distribution, and corporate offices, reflecting its proximity to major interstates and O’Hare International Airport. The village’s 2025 financial report highlights continued investment in industrial redevelopment, retail corridor improvements, and capital projects such as the Addison Community Care Center and veterans memorial expansion.
According to the village’s FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the largest employers include:
Addison Public Library: Officially opened in 1962 and a new building opened in 2008. Recognized with Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services in 2024 by the American Library Association.
Addison Perspective
Addison Center for the Arts
Government
Addison operates under a mayor–trustee (village board) form of government, with trustees and the village president elected at large to four-year terms. Tom Hundley is the current Mayor of Addison. Other elected officials include Village Trustees Sam Nasti, Maria Reyes, Cathy Kluczny, Dawn O'Brien, and Jay DelRosario, and Village Clerk Lucille Zucchero. The town of Triggiano, Italy, is the sister city of Addison.
Addison is home to Addison Trail High School and to Indian Trail Junior High School. The elementary schools are: Ardmore, Wesley Elementary, Lake Park Elementary, Fullerton Elementary, Army Trail Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, and Stone Elementary. St. Philip the Apostle, a private Catholic school and parish, is located in Addison and serves students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Driscoll Catholic High School was located in Addison before closing in 2009. DeVry University and Chamberlain College of Nursing also call Addison home. Addison also has an Early Learning Center for 3-5-year-old students in Pre-K.
Transportation
Pace provides bus service on Routes 711 and 715 connecting Addison to Wheaton and other destinations.
↑McDill, Kent (May 29, 2002). "San Francisco 'a nice fit' for Addison Trail product Anelli". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2009– via HighBeam Research. Mark Anelli had the strangest feeling he was going to get drafted by the San Francisco 49ers this spring ... After all, the 49ers clearly had shown the most interest in the former Addison Trail High School standout
↑Hersh, Philip (January 27, 2013). "Silver may be hollow for pair: Scimeca, Knierim likely to lose spot at worlds". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois.
