Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Evanston lies on Lake Michigan 12 miles (19 km) north of the Loop. It is bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wilmette to the north, and the lake to the east. Evanston had a population of 78,110 as of 2020. Founded by Methodist business leaders in 1857, the city was incorporated in 1863. Evanston is home to Northwestern University, founded in 1851 before the city's incorporation, one of the world's leading research universities. Today known for its ethnically diverse population, Evanston is heavily shaped by the influence of Chicago, externally, and Northwestern, internally. The city and the university share a historically complex long-standing relationship. Source: Wikipedia (en)