Clifton is a village in Chebanse Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,352 at the 2020 census.

Clifton was founded in 1857. The village takes its name from Clifton hotel in Chicago.

Clifton is located in northern Iroquois County at 40°56′5″N 87°56′1″W / 40.93472°N 87.93361°W / 40.93472; -87.93361 (40.934592, -87.933535). Interstate 57 passes along the eastern side of the village, with access from Exit 297. I-57 leads north 14 miles (23 km) to Kankakee and south 61 miles (98 km) to Champaign. Chicago is 72 miles (116 km) north of Clifton.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Clifton has a total area of 0.93 square miles (2.41 km), all land.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	474		—
1890	474		0.0%
1900	652		37.6%
1910	634		−2.8%
1920	638		0.6%
1930	589		−7.7%
1940	580		−1.5%
1950	734		26.6%
1960	1,018		38.7%
1970	1,339		31.5%
1980	1,390		3.8%
1990	1,347		−3.1%
2000	1,317		−2.2%
2010	1,468		11.5%
2020	1,352		−7.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2020 census there were 1,352 people, 482 households, and 336 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,453.76 inhabitants per square mile (561.30/km). There were 560 housing units at an average density of 602.15 per square mile (232.49/km). The racial makeup of the village was 93.86% White, 0.52% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 4.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.77% of the population.

There were 482 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.73% were married couples living together, 9.34% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.29% were non-families. 27.18% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.92% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 2.44.

The village's age distribution consisted of 26.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $72,188, and the median income for a family was $83,571. Males had a median income of $49,236 versus $30,144 for females. The per capita income for the village was $31,837. About 8.6% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Clifton is one of three municipalities in Iroquois County (along with Ashkum and Chebanse) that are served by Comcast's South Suburban Chicago system (which is based out of Homewood and also serves the Kankakee area). This means that for local broadcast channels, Clifton receives stations from the Chicago area and does not receive any stations from the Champaign–Springfield–Decatur market, which includes Iroquois County.

• Village of Clifton official website
• The Clifton Advocate, newspaper since 1893