New demographic data from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning offers an illuminating picture of who lives in the Tri-Cities and how the three communities compare to each other, to Kane County, and to the broader Chicago region. 

The numbers, which illustrate trends over time and uncover common themes, show that all three communities are prosperous, highly educated, aging, and growing more slowly than they were a couple of decades ago.

St. Charles is the largest of the three towns at 32,854 residents, followed by Batavia at 27,151 and Geneva at 21,258. All three grew significantly between 2000 and 2010, but growth has essentially stalled since — St. Charles is down 0.4% since 2010 and Geneva is down 1.1% while Batavia has added 4.2%. 

That puts all three well below Kane County's 28% cumulative growth since 2000. The data also suggests that if you live here, you probably own your own home: Geneva's homeownership rate is currently at 85%, Batavia's at 77%, and St. Charles at 70%.

The regional average is about 65%.

Geneva stands out with a median household income of $144,341, which is nearly $25,000 higher than Batavia ($120,056) and $30,000 higher than St. Charles ($114,300). 

All three communities exceed both Kane County's median ($103,163) and the broader Chicago region ($93,091). In Geneva, 48% of households earn $150,000 or more annually.

The Tri-Cities skew older than the surrounding region, and the gap has widened significantly over the past two decades. 

Geneva's median age is 43.2, Batavia's is 42.0, and St. Charles is 41.5 — which all come in higher than the regional median of 38.5. The shift is most notable when it comes to senior citizens; in Geneva, residents 65 and older now make up 18.8% of the population, up from just 8.9% in 2000. 

Batavia and St. Charles have undergone similar shifts (from 9.9% to 18.5% and 10.2% to 17.4% respectively). Meanwhile, the share of residents under 20 has dropped in all three communities since 2000.

All three cities have become more diverse over the past 25 years. The white non-Hispanic share has dropped from 90% or above in all three communities in 2000 to 74.7% in St. Charles, 83.5% in Geneva, and 81.8% in Batavia today.

St. Charles has experienced the biggest shift, seeing its Hispanic population grow from 5.5% in 2000 to 12.3% today. In St. Charles, the share of residents who speak a language other than English at home has grown from 13.5% to 17.7% over the past decade.

Remote work has taken hold in two of our three communities. About one in four workers in Geneva (25.6%) and Batavia (24.3%) now work from home, both well above the regional average of 18.5%. St. Charles is below the regional norm at 15.2%. 

Batavia added private sector jobs at roughly nine times the regional growth rate between 2015 and 2025 (33.9% vs. 4.1%), making it a standout among other suburban job centers. 

Geneva generates the most retail sales per capita of the three at nearly $39,000, which is almost three times St. Charles ($13,600) and easily exceeds the regional average of $25,300. This likely reflects the strength of Geneva’s downtown retail and shopping district.

The full individual Community Data Snapshots for Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles (including housing characteristics, transportation data, land use, and more) are available for free on CMAP’s website. 

The data comes from multiple sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois Department of Revenue, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Full source details are noted in each report.

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