Special Report

These are the Counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area with the Most Deaths from COVID-19

Samuel Stebbins

Published: July 23, 2021 5:30 am

The ongoing vaccination effort is allowing life in the United States to return to some degree of normalcy. So far, the virus has claimed 603,880 American lives — more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.

In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area, which covers parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, a total of 17,125 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 180 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 185 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.

Though COVID-19 deaths per capita in the metro area are closely in line with comparable national rate, there are parts of the city where this is not the case.

The broader Chicago metro area comprises 14 counties or county equivalents — and of them, Newton County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Newton County stands at 257 for every 100,000 people.

Though it has the highest per capita death rate in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, Newton County ranks among the middle 50% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents with at least one COVID-19 fatality by death rate per capita.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of July 20, 2021.

These are all the counties in Indiana where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).