South Holland is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, within Thornton Township. The population was 21,465 at the 2020 census. History The area currently occupied by South Holland, Illinois, was first settled in 1846 by immigrants from South Holland, Netherlands. When the community formally incorporated as a village in 1894, its population was about 1,000. Originally a general farming community, it later specialized in vegetable growing, especially onion sets. By the 1940s South Holland was known as the "Onion Set Capital of the World". The town was built on low ground near the Calumet River and was originally called de Laage Prairie (Low Prairie) to differentiate it from another Dutch settlement further north on higher ground and called de Hooge Prairie (now the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago). In October 2007, Forbes.com declared South Holland to be the "Most Livable Metro-Area suburb" of the Chicago metropolitan area. Geography South Holland is located at (41.60, -87.60). It is bordered by Harvey and Phoenix to the west, Dolton to the north, Thornton to the south, and Calumet City and Lansing to the east. According to the 2010 census, South Holland has a total area of , of which (or 99.78%) is land and (or 0.22%) is water. South Holland's addresses and numbered streets are 3 blocks ahead of Chicago's grid. For example, 159th Street is actually called 162nd Street. Surrounding areas Dolton Harvey Calumet City Phoenix / Harvey Calumet City East Hazel Crest Lansing Thornton Demographics As of the 2020 census there were 21,465 people, 7,418 households, and 5,505 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 7,863 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 80.96% African American, 10.42% White, 0.28% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.90% from other races, and 3.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.60% of the population. There were 7,418 households, out of which 48.14% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.57% were married couples living together, 26.03% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.79% were non-families. 24.16% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.25% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 2.82. The