According to the 2010 census, Palos Hills has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,665 people, 7,320 households, and 4,772 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,239.7 people per square mile. There were 7,492 housing units at an average density of 1,798.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 87.18% White, 5.48% African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.67% Asian, 1.11% Pacific Islander, 1.57% from other races, and 2.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. The top five ancestries reported in Palos Hills as of the 2000 census were Irish, Polish, German, Italian and Greek. There were 7,320 households, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couplesliving together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,164, and the median income for a family was $61,655. Males had a median income of $44,387 versus $32,014 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,230. About 2.2% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Palos Hills is in Illinois' 3rd congressional district. The mayor is the chief executive while the city council, consisting of ten aldermen elected from five wards, is the legislative body. The Mayor is Gerald R. Bennett. The Clerk is Rudy Mulderink. The Treasurer is Kenneth Nolan. Aldermen:
Ward 1: Martin Kleefisch and Joan Knox
Ward 2: Mark Brachman and Pauline Stratton
Ward 3: William Hanson and AJ Pasek
Ward 4: Joseph Marrotta and Ricky Moore
Ward 5: Dawn Nowak and Donna O’Connel
North Palos Fire Protection District operates Station 1 and Station 2 in Palos Hills.
* All sections are zoned to Palos South Middle School in Palos Park. Currently sections of Palos Hills in District 118 are divided between Palos East Elementary in Palos Heights and Palos West Elementary in Palos Park. Prior to 2016-2017 all of the District 118 portion of Palos Hills was in the Palos East zone.