Illinois' 17th Congressional District
Illinois · IL-17
Illinois' 17th Congressional District is one of 17 U.S. House districts in Illinois, represented in Congress by Eric Sorensen (Democrat). It is home to roughly 751,084 people, with a median age of 38.9. The population is about 70% White. The median household income is $58,355, and 24% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the 2024 presidential election the district was highly competitive (D+5).
Representative
Current U.S. House member (source: house.gov).
Geography
IL-17 is shown in red. Click a neighboring district to open it, or zoom out to explore the country.
Covering 4,561 square miles, IL-17 is the 155th-largest of the 435 congressional districts by land area. With about 165 residents per square mile, it is a mix of small cities, suburbs and countryside. Its shape is very irregular: the district's Polsby-Popper score of 0.08 ranks 421st of 435 nationally, where 1st is the most compact.
Presidential results
In the 2024 presidential election, 52% of IL-17 voters backed Kamala Harris and 47% Donald Trump — a D+5 margin. That is a 3.0-point shift toward the Republicans from 2020, when the district voted D+8.
Two-party presidential vote by district (source: The Downballot).
Who lives here
The median resident of the district is 38.9 years old; 21.8% of residents are under 18 and 18.8% are 65 or older. About 6.3% of residents were born outside the United States, and 10.6% speak a language other than English at home.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (5-year estimates).
Economy & education
At $58,355, the district's median household income ranks 400th of 435 districts nationwide. The typical owner-occupied home is worth $127,305, and the median rent is $872 a month. 17.3% of residents live below the poverty line, and workers average a 21.3-minute commute (8% work from home).
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (5-year estimates).