Illinois Lost More People Than Any U.S. State In 2010s: Census

ILLINOIS — Illinois has had the largest population decrease of all U.S. states throughout the 2010s, according to data from the Census Bureau. The total population decrease was 168,682, or 1.3 percent of the population at the start of the decade.

Illinois' population increased by about 44,000 in the first half of the decade, then dropped by about 213,000 in the second half. This is largely due to people leaving for new jobs, according to the 42nd annual "National Movers Study," conducted by United Van Lines.

The population decrease is also in part because of Illinois' property taxes being among the highest in the country.

This is despite overall population growth in the United States the same time period, with an increase from about 309 million to 328 million. This marks a slower increase than in the past, the Census says, due to fewer births and more deaths.

Related:

• Illinois Population Drops By 45K; 2nd-Largest Decrease In U.S.
• Illinois Had Largest Population Drop This Year: Census Bureau
• People Are Fleeing From Illinois — Here's Why
• Illinois' Property Tax Rate Among Highest In Nation

Here's the Illinois population, counted on July 1 of each year:

• 2010: 12,840,503
• 2011: 12,867,454
• 2012: 12,882,510
• 2013: 12,895,129
• 2014: 12,884,493
• 2015: 12,858,913
• 2016: 12,820,527
• 2017: 12,778,828
• 2018: 12,723,071
• 2019: 12,671,821

The biggest population loser in the country was New York, with a decrease of 76,790 people, or 0.4 percent. Illinois, having lost 51,250 people, also lost 0.4 percent of its population.

Regardless of the population decrease, Illinois is still among only nine states with a population over 10 million. California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania are more populous than Illinois, and Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina have fewer people.

While Illinois was the state with the largest decrease, Puerto Rico saw a decrease of 527,831 people over the decade. One quarter of this population decrease happened between 2017 and 2018, when Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

See the Census Bureau report on the population change from 2018 to 2019.

Overall, the Midwest saw moderate growth among the four major regions of the continental United States. While the South and West saw the most growth, and the Northeast saw the least growth, the Midwest landed in the middle.

Northeast

• 2010: 55,317,240 | 2019: 55,982,803

Midwest

• 2010: 66,927,001 | 2019: 68,329,004

South

• 2010: 114,555,744 | 2019: 125,580,448

West

• 2010: 71,945,553 | 2019: 78,347,268