Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-most populous municipality in the state.

History Founding The city dates its founding to the period between 1831 and 1837, after the passage of the Indian Removal Act, when Erastus Gary laid claim to of land near present-day Warrenville. The Wheaton brothers arrived from Connecticut and in 1837, Warren L. Wheaton laid claim to of land in the center of town. Jesse Wheaton later made claim to of land just west of Warren's. It was not long before other settlers from New England joined them in the community. In 1848, they gave the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad of right of way, upon which railroad officials named the depot Wheaton. In 1850, ten blocks of land were platted and anyone who was willing to build immediately was granted free land. In 1853, the lots were surveyed and a formal plat for the community was filed with the county. The community was incorporated as a village on February 24, 1859, with Warren serving as its first president. The village was later incorporated as a city on April 24, 1890, when the first mayor of the city was selected, Judge Elbert Gary, son of Erastus Gary and founder of Gary, Indiana.

Establishment as county seat

In 1857, the Illinois state legislature authorized an election to be held to decide the question of whether the DuPage county seat should remain in Naperville or be moved to the more centrally located Wheaton, which was on the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. Naperville won the election by a vote of 1,542 to 762. Hostility between the two towns continued for the next decade and another election was held in 1867, in which Wheaton narrowly won by a vote of 1,686 to 1,635. At a cost of $20,000, the City of Wheaton quickly built a courthouse to house a courtroom, county offices, and a county jail. The building was dedicated on July 4, 1868.

However, animosity between the two towns continued, and in 1868, as records were moved from the Naperville courthouse to the new courthouse in Wheaton, Naperville refused to turn over the remaining county records, prompting a band of Civil War veterans from Wheaton to conduct what came to be known as the "Midnight Raid" on the Naperville courthouse. As Wheatonites fled back on Wheaton-Naperville Road, Napervillians were able to secure some of the last remaining records, which were then taken to the Cook County Recorder in Chicago for safekeeping. During that time, Naperville was mounting a lawsuit against Wheaton accusing election judges of leaving their posts for lunch during the vote when duplicate ballot stuffing allegedly occurred. As the courts deliberated the fate of the county seat, the records were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Shortly thereafter, Wheaton was officially proclaimed the county seat.

As demand for space increased, the courthouse was rebuilt in 1887 at a cost of $69,390, modeled after the courthouse in Aledo. This structure was used for the next 94 years until the county's rapid growth prompted the building of a brand new complex. The old courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was formerly used by National Louis University until National Louis moved to Lisle in 2004. It is being developed into luxury condominiums.

On November 2, 1990, the courthouse moved to a building about west in a new complex at the corner of County Farm Road and Manchester Road. It was built at a cost of $52,500,000 and includes a judicial building. In 1992, the county sued the architect and contractor for $4 million after several employees became ill from the ventilation system. In the end, however, the county received only $120,000 for minor repairs and the jury sided with the defendants, finding that the alleged problems were caused, primarily, by the county's negligent operation and maintenance of the ventilation system.

Expansion

Wheaton has rapidly expanded since the 1950s, although population growth has slowed since the early 1990s, as the city has become increasingly landlocked. Downtown lost much business after the county courthouse facility moved west in 1990, but in the decade since, the downtown has seen a renaissance of sorts, with the creation of several significant condominium and business developments. One of the most recognizable landmarks of the city is Wheaton Center, a 758-unit apartment complex on in downtown Wheaton. The six building complex includes two twenty-story high-rise buildings built in 1975.

In 1887, Wheaton, which has a large evangelical Christian population, prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages, a ban which lasted until 1985 and applied to all supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, and other establishments.

Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Wheaton has an area of , of which (or 98.55%) is land and (or 1.45%) is water.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Wheaton city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)48,49444,23241,81987.51%83.62%77.49%Black or African American alone (NH)1,5252,3242,2512.75%4.39%4.17%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)5055410.09%0.10%0.08%Asian alone (NH)2,6802,7084,0214.84%5.12%7.45%Pacific Islander alone (NH)111240.02%0.02%0.01%Other race alone (NH)45582010.08%0.11%0.37%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)5888882,1291.06%1.68%3.94%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2,0232,6173,5043.65%4.95%6.49%Total55,41652,89453,970100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 53,970 people, 19,948 households, and 13,122 families residing in the city. The population density was .

The median age was 39.0 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.0 males age 18 and over. Of the population, 100% of residents live in urban areas.

There were 19,948 households in Wheaton, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 57.5% were married-couple households, 13.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 20,885 housing units (an average density of ), of which 4.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 42,641 79.0% Black or African American 2,303 4.3% American Indian and Alaska Native 89 0.2% Asian 4,047 7.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 6 0.0% Some other race 1,208 2.2% Two or more races 3,676 6.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 3,504 6.5%

Income The median income for a household in the city was $105,764, and the median income for a family was $129,579. Males had a median income of $73,771 versus $40,560 for females. The per capita income for the city was $51,688. About 3.3% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

In August 2010, the city was listed among the "Top 25 Highest Earning Towns" on CNN Money, citing a median family income of $113,517, and a median home price of $328,866, based on 2009 figures. Economy According to the City of Wheaton's 2025 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

+ # Employer # of Employees 1 DuPage County Government Center 2824 2 Community Unit School District 200 1884 6 Wheaton Park District 495 3 Wheaton College 769 8 Forest Preserve District Dupage County 317 5 Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital 585 4 First Trust Partners 670 9 Wyndemere Senior Living Campus 305 10 Jewel-Osco (2 stores) 265 7 City of Wheaton 322

Business districts Wheaton boasts a vibrant downtown with many restaurants, shops and services. The Downtown Wheaton Association hosts many events throughout the year to promote local businesses, including The French Market, The Chili Cookoff, Vintage Rides, Boo-palooza (Downtown Wheaton Trick-or-Treat), A Dickens of a Christmas, Wheaton Wedding Walk and Wheaton's Wine & Cultural Arts Festival.

Downtown Wheaton is home to perhaps one of the narrowest stores in the Chicago area. The Little Popcorn Store on Front Street was formerly an alley between two buildings, and features the exposed brick walls of its neighbors. The store has been around since the 1920s and not only sells fresh popcorn, but candy for as little as 1¢ apiece.

Other shopping districts in Wheaton include Danada Square West, and Danada Square East, named after Dan and Ada Rice, located on the north side of Illinois Route 56 (Butterfield Road), on the west and east side of Naperville Road. Just east of Danada Square East is Rice Lake Square, another open air shopping center. Just north of Danada Square East, along Naperville Road, is Town Square Wheaton, which was built in 1992, and is a mixed-use lifestyle center featuring clothing boutiques and restaurants. Other shopping areas include the Roosevelt Road and Geneva Road corridors.

Arts and culture Fairgrounds Wheaton is home to the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Organized in 1954, the DuPage County Fair Association hosts the annual DuPage County Fair in late July. The fair annually attracts major entertainers including Ashlee Simpson, Plain White T's (2007), Travis Tritt, Jesse McCartney, Jars of Clay, Corbin Bleu (2008), The Academy Is..., The Original Wailers (2009), and Danny Gokey (2010).

Theater Wheaton is also home to the historic Grand Theater, built in 1925. In recent years, the theater and volunteers undertook a restoration to its original state, complete with a lighted dome ceiling dotted with stars, and a newly painted floor. It celebrated its grand reopening on May 11, 2002, and on August 25, 2005, the theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. There was a sense of growing pessimism that the theater would ever be restored, due to lack of progress and funds. However, there was cause for hope when on January 23, 2010, when many cast members of the off-Broadway show Jersey Boys raised approximately $50,000 for restoration.

On July 10, 2010, the Grand Theater Corp. surrendered the deed to the building, to Suburban Bank and Trust Co, due in part to being delinquent on a $800,000 loan, carried by Suburban Bank and Trust Co.

On November 30, 2012, Jim Atten bought the building, intending to reopen it soon. Since then he has been repairing the property and leading the effort to remove temporary structures within the theater. He has worked closely with an architect and the city staff as the effort progresses. According to the Daily Herald newspaper, it will take an estimated $5 million to get the theater up and running again.

Public library

The Wheaton Public Library is frequently ranked as one of the top ten libraries in the nation compared to other libraries serving similarly sized populations. In 2006, a three-story addition was added, followed by significant renovations which were completed in 2007, to bring the square footage up from 74,000 to 124,000. The annual public library budget in 2018 was $4.084 million. , the total circulation was 1,013,326, the number of items in the collection was 262,745, and the number of visitors was 525,711. The previous public library was converted into the DuPage County Historical Museum, between 1965 and 1967.

In May 2016, the library opened The Bean Café, a small coffee shop located just inside the Wheaton Public Library's park-side (west) entrance.

Parks and recreation

Parks and golf