The community was named after a Richton in Vermont, the native home of a first settler.
Geography
Richton Park is located at . According to the 2010 census, Richton Park has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is bordered by Matteson to the north, Olympia Fields to the northeast, Park Forest to the east, University Park to the south and Frankfort to the west.
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 13,646 people, 5,391 households, and 2.54 persons living per household. The population density was 3,426.9 people per square mile according to 2010 census. There were 4,730 housing units at an average density of 1,401.9 per square mile in 2000. By 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 82.4% African American, 12.7% White, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. According to 2000 census data, there were 4,578 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.25. Between 2010 and 2014, there were 5,304 households, with an estimated 60.8% ownership rate. The 2010 Census estimated the population was spread out with 34.3% under the age of 18 and 8.6% of persons 65 years and over. These estimates were a change from those of 2000, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in 2000 was 33 years. In 2010, 54.7% of the village was female persons. In 2010-2014, the median household income was $54,887, an increase from the 2000 Census estimate of $48,299, and the median income for a family was $58,661. In 2000, males had a median income of $44,637 versus $35,231 for females. The per capita income for the village in 2010-2014 was $26,566. In 2000, about 4.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over. By 2010 estimates, 20.0% of persons were in poverty.
