Illinois Population Drops By 45K; 2nd-Largest Decrease In U.S.

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau show Illinois' population loss between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2018 was more than 45,000 residents. According to the estimates, that loss is more than any other state, except New York, which lost more than 48,000.

Since 2013, Illinois has lost a total of 157,189 residents — roughly equivalent to losing a city the size of Joliet, Naperville or Rockford.

A total of nine states and Puerto Rico saw their populations decrease during the last 12 months, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. The third highest loss was in West Virginia, with 11,216, which is more than four-times less than Illinois' loss.

“Many states have seen fewer births and more deaths in recent years,” said Sandra Johnson, a demographer/statistician in the Population Division of the Census Bureau, in the report. “If those states are not gaining from either domestic or international migration they will experience either low population growth or outright decline.”

In addition to the last year's loss, the estimates show that between 2010 and 2018, only the populations of Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut and Puerto Rico declined.

However, Illinois is still the sixth most populous state in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with a population of 12,741,080.

The U.S. population grew by 0.6 percent and Nevada and Idaho were the nation’s fastest-growing states in the last year.

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