Special Report
Since the first case of the omicron variant was detected in the U.S., new daily cases of COVID-19 have hit new highs. To date, 78,099,364 Americans have been infected with the virus — and over 900,000 have died as a result. On a per capita basis, the U.S. has one of the highest known infections rates in the world.
In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area, which covers parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, a total of 2,081,854 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 21,831 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 23,871 cases per 100,000 people.
The lower than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is being driven by one area in particular.
The broader Chicago metro area comprises 14 counties or county equivalents — and of them, Newton County in Indiana has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 2,531 infections in Newton County, or 18,055 for every 100,000 people.
Though Newton County has the lowest per capita infection rate in the Chicago metro area, its per capita fatality rate is disproportionately high.
There have been a total of 471 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Newton County, above the 247 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Feb. 28, 2022.
| Rank | Geography | COVID cases per 100,000 people | Total cases | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newton County, IN | 18,055 | 2,531 | 471 | 66 |
| 2 | Lake County, IL | 20,845 | 146,671 | 187 | 1,318 |
| 3 | Cook County, IL | 21,222 | 1,108,582 | 268 | 13,997 |
| 4 | Lake County, IN | 21,624 | 105,277 | 347 | 1,687 |
| 5 | DeKalb County, IL | 22,006 | 22,930 | 181 | 189 |
| 6 | DuPage County, IL | 22,007 | 205,045 | 179 | 1,669 |
| 7 | Porter County, IN | 22,050 | 37,053 | 311 | 522 |
| 8 | Will County, IL | 23,163 | 159,520 | 215 | 1,482 |
| 9 | Kane County, IL | 23,399 | 124,212 | 206 | 1,093 |
| 10 | McHenry County, IL | 24,241 | 74,612 | 148 | 456 |
| 11 | Kendall County, IL | 24,420 | 30,434 | 124 | 154 |
| 12 | Grundy County, IL | 24,695 | 12,473 | 263 | 133 |
| 13 | Kenosha County, WI | 25,886 | 43,574 | 361 | 608 |
| 14 | Jasper County, IN | 26,727 | 8,940 | 407 | 136 |
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