Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S.