Matteson is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census.
History
The area encompassed by modern Matteson was settled in the late 1800s, primarily by people of German descent. Platted in 1855, Matteson had nearly 500 residents when it incorporated as a village in 1889. The village's namesake is Joel Aldrich Matteson, who served as Illinois' tenth governor from 1853 to 1857. The 20th century saw improvements in plumbing, the electrification of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the construction of today's school district, resulting in significant population growth to more than 3,000 residents by the end of the 1960s. By 2000, Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall (opened 1973) and annexed 195 acres of land for the village. Today, Matteson is home to nearly 20,000 residents, hundreds of businesses, and the close proximity of two major hospitals, Matteson offer the best of suburban living. Matteson features a culturally diverse residential population, a growing business area with a vast amount of shopping centers, award-winning schools, surrounding universities, a state-of-the-art community center, and exceptional Village services.
In 1995 the African-American community became an increasingly large component of Matteson. The village began a program to encourage white people to move to Matteson. By 2011 the community attracted many well to do African-Americans moving from Chicago. Matteson, which experienced increases in the average incomes in households in several census tracts, saw its African-American population increase by 85% and its white population decline by about 1,200 in the time period 2000-2010.
Geography
Matteson is located at (41.509832, -87.739267).
According to the 2010 census, Matteson has a total area of , of which (or 99.64%) is land and (or 0.36%) is water. The village's topography is mostly flat.
Matteson is bordered by Park Forest and Olympia Fields to the east, Country Club Hills and Tinley Park to the north, Frankfort to the west, and Richton Park to the south.
Demographics
2020 census
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2010 Census
As of the 2010 census, there were 19,009 people, 6,778 households, and 3,553 families residing in the village. The 2000 Census recorded a population density of 1,811.2 people per square mile (699.1/km) and 4,712 housing units at an average density of 660.2 per square mile (254.8/km). For 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 78.7% African American, 16.3% White, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population. A Dateline NBC episode in 1997 focused on Matteson and the issue of racial balance.
According to 2000 Census Data, there were 4,561 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 5.9% of persons under the age of 5, 27.1% under the age of 18, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years as of 2000. The percent of female persons in the village totaled 54% by the 2010 census data.
The most recent estimate of median income for a village household was $85,202, measured in 2017. In the year 2000, the median income for a family was $65,666. Males had a median income of $46,075 versus $33,339 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,024. In 2000, about 2.7% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. In 2014, 10.8% of the population was estimated to be in poverty.
Economy
Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall, which was located at Cicero Avenue and US Highway 30. Once one of the Chicago Southland's major regional shopping centers, Lincoln Mall experienced a protracted decline beginning in the 1990s and closed on January 7, 2015. Demolition of the mall site commenced in May 2017. Several big-box retailers, including Target and JCPenney, are located in close proximity to the former mall, as are hotels and low/midrise office buildings.
The Matteson Auto Mall, just west of Interstate 57 along US Highway 30, is the largest agglomeration of automobile dealerships in Illinois. The Matteson Auto Mall was originally developed by David Miller in 2001. Valspar operates a paint manufacturing facility in Matteson.
Matteson is also the home of Park Place Realty Group LLC], which was recently [https://www.blackenterprise.com/power-couple-launches-black-owned-real-estate-brokerage-to-help-more-families-find-a-home/ featured in Black Enterprise Magazine, owned and operated by Calvin & Ro'Shunda Russell.
Government
Matteson is in Illinois' 2nd congressional district.
Matteson's sister city is Pune, India.
Education
Matteson is home to three school districts. Elementary School District 159 and Matteson School District 162 serve separate portions of Matteson for grades PK-8. All of Matteson is within the Rich Township High School District 227.
Matteson School District 162
Arcadia
Illinois
Indiana
Matteson
Richton Square
Sauk
O.W. Huth
Elementary School District 159
Colin Powell
Marya Yates
Sieden Prairie
Woodgate
Rich Township High School, the only public high school operated by the high school district, serves Matteson. Previously Matteson was divided between the attendance boundaries of Rich Central High School and Rich South High School.
Residents of the village may also attend Southland College Preparatory Charter High School.
The Matteson Area Public Library District serves the community. Its current library opened in 1993. An addition with of space opened in 2015, bringing the total space to .
