Poles in Chicago are made up of both immigrant
Poles and
Americans of Polish heritage living in
Chicago,
Illinois. They are a part of worldwide
Polonia, the proper term for the Polish
Diaspora outside of
Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of
Chicago from its very beginning.
Poles have been a part of the
history of Chicago since 1837, when Captain Joseph Napieralski, along with other veterans of the
November Uprising first set foot there. As of the
2000 U.S. census, Poles in Chicago are the largest
European American ethnic group in the city, making up 7.3% of the total population. However, according to the 2006–2008
American Community Survey,
German Americans and
Irish Americans each had slightly surpassed Polish Americans as the largest European American ethnic groups in Chicago . German Americans made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,789; Irish Americans also made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,294. Polish Americans now made up 6.7% of Chicago's population, and numbered at 182,064. However, Polish Americans are, by far, the largest European American ethnic group in the
Chicago metropolitan area, with as many as 1.5 million claiming Polish ancestry. In addition, Polish Americans in Chicago have a recent history of family members who came from Poland as many are first or second generation Poles as compared to many other ethnics who are third or fourth generation. Polish is the third largest speaking language in Chicago behind English and Spanish.