Minooka, Illinois

Minooka is a village in Grundy, Kendall, and Will counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,758 at the 2020 census, up from 10,924 at the 2010 census. The village is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

History
Minooka was established as a place in 1852 when the railroad was built through this area. It was incorporated as a village in 1869. The name "Minooka" is derived from a Native American word meaning "maple forest" or "good earth".

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad served the town at Minooka Station.

Geography
The center of the village is in the northeast corner of Grundy County. The village limits extend north into the southeast corner of Kendall County and east into Will County. The village is bordered to the east and south by the village of Channahon.

Interstate 80 passes through the north side of the village, with access from Exit 122. I-80 leads northeast 11 mi to Joliet and west 45 mi to LaSalle. Downtown Chicago is 48 mi northeast of Minooka via Interstates 80 and 55. U.S. Route 6 runs along part of the southern border of Minooka; the highway leads east into the center of Channahon and southwest 9 mi to Morris.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Minooka has a total area of 9.48 sqmi, of which 9.41 sqmi (or 99.22%) is land and 0.07 sqmi (or 0.78%) is water. The DuPage River, a south-flowing tributary of the Des Plaines River, forms part of the eastern boundary of the village.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 12,758 people, 3,685 households, and 2,913 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,345.92 PD/sqmi. There were 4,110 housing units at an average density of 433.59 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 80.64% White, 3.26% African American, 0.57% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.13% from other races, and 10.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.65% of the population.

There were 3,685 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.02% were married couples living together, 9.66% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.95% were non-families. 16.47% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.45% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38 and the average family size was 3.00.

The village's age distribution consisted of 28.9% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $97,097, and the median income for a family was $100,097. Males had a median income of $62,403 versus $31,581 for females. The per capita income for the village was $34,655. About 5.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 (elementary district) has a total of seven schools and serves nearly 4,000 students. Minooka Community High School District 111 has a campus for juniors and seniors and a newer campus for freshmen and sophomores.

Notable people

 * Carlos Avery, Minnesota newspaper publisher, politician, and conservationist
 * Dale Coyne, Indy Car team owner
 * Sal Fasano, former Major League Baseball player
 * Mike Foltynewicz, Major League Baseball player
 * Nick Offerman, actor (Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation)