Burbank

History

In 1850, the area which would become the city of Burbank, then largely uninhabited and agrarian, became part of Lyons Township. Over the next hundred years the area remained largely undeveloped, though several times large plans were laid out for the area, never to come to fruition. In the late 19th century, a railroad investor named A. B. Stickney planned a large railroad transfer center which included what became the northern part of Burbank, but his ideas were never realized due to an economic depression in 1893. In the 1920s, the area became an attractive site for real-estate developers who bought up farmland and built subdivisions. However, ongoing drainage problems, practically nonexistent water and sewage systems and the Great Depression kept Burbank largely unbuilt and empty until the 1950s. In 1952, the area became part of Stickney Township. Though still unincorporated, this led to massive development in the area, and by 1960 the population of the area had reached 20,720, nearly triple the population of a decade earlier. The area was incorporated into a city in 1970, partly to resist annexation by the City of Chicago. The city was named after Luther Burbank Elementary School, an institution which had served the area since the 1930s. The area's population peaked in 1976 at 29,448.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Burbank has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  67,422
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  58,263
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  53,611
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  49,037
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44,970
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  43,480
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  42,861
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  41,832

Largest nearby schools

• Lyons Twp High Sch
  High · La Grange · 3,842 students · 15:1 ratio
• J Sterling Morton West High Sch
  High · Berwyn · 3,533 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• J Sterling Morton East High Sch
  High · Cicero · 3,445 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Curie Metropolitan High School
  High · Chicago · 3,178 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Carl Sandburg High School
  High · Orland Park · 2,894 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
  High · Palos Hills · 2,538 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Unity Jr High School
  Middle · Cicero · 2,054 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Reavis High School
  High · Burbank · 1,986 students · 17.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-15
  6 km W of Dwight, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois