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: February 25, 2022 4:30 am

Though cases of the omicron variant appear to have peaked in the United States, the virus continues to claim lives. So far, more than 900,000 Americans have died from the virus — 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 23,312 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 244 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 284 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.

Though deaths attributable to the virus are less common across the metro area than they are nationwide, this is not the case in some parts of the city.

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 471 for every 100,000 people.

With the highest per capita death rate in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, Newton County ranks among the top 25% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents by COVID-19 death rate per capita.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Feb. 23, 2022.

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