The Howard Area Community Center is located in Rogers Park, one of the most racially, ethnically, and economically integrated communities in Chicago and the nation. According to 2005 data from the Metropolitan Chicago Information Center, Rogers Park has an almost even distribution of Chicago's three major racial/ethnic groups. Of its 65,161 residents, 30% are white, 30% are African American, and 32% are Latino. Approximately 7% are Asian/Pacific Islander. Close to 40 languages are spoken here, and residents come from over 80 countries around the world.

For many years, Rogers Park has offered affordable rental housing and access to public transportation, making it an ideal setting for low-income working families and a port of entry for new immigrants to this country. However, as the neighborhood experiences gentrification, affordable housing has become increasingly scarce. Rental costs are rising at a rapid rate, and many rental units have been converted into condominiums that are too expensive for many families.

Rogers Park contains pockets of severe poverty, with more than 22% of all households reporting annual incomes of less than $15,000. Close to 95% of the children who attend our two neighborhood elementary schools come from low-income families.  Nearly 40% of all Rogers Park children under the age of six are living in poverty.

Many adults in this community have low educational achievement and lack employment skills. About one out of every four individuals age 25 and older report having no high school diploma or equivalency. About 23% of Rogers Park residents are not proficient in the English language.  

Students who attend our public schools continue to display poor academic achievement. In our two local elementary schools, only 36% and 45% of students met or exceeded state standards in 2005. Between one-third and one-half of the public high school students drop out before graduating.

Many in our community still lack access to adequate health care and often do not have accurate information about health risks and the resources that are available to them. A recent study reports that nearly 40% of women who were pregnant here in 2005 did not initiate prenatal care in their first trimester, placing them at risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. Rogers Park ranks 2nd highest out of 77 community areas for this measure. It ranks 6th for the number of persons with AIDS. In addition, young children living in certain sections of Rogers Park have some of the highest rates of lead poisoning in the city.

For further information on Rogers Park, please visit the Rogers Park Health Assessment on our links page.