2014 Illinois City Population Estimates (Chicago, Rockford: 2015, how much, to live in)

[Maintainschaos]

These came out recently, but I thought I'd compile the most notable ones here. One thing of note I thought was that Aurora had recently passed the 200,000 mark and now is the first Illinois city other than Chicago to reach >200K. Champaign/Urbana and Bloomington/Normal are increasing with pretty good rates; poor Rockford is still estimated to be contracting despite its turnaround for the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

Chicago
2010: 2,695,598 ; 2014: 2,722,389; +0.99%

Aurora
2010: 197,899 ; 2014: 200,456; +1.27%

Rockford
2010: 152,871 ; 2014: 149,123; -2.57%

Joliet
2010: 147,433 ; 2014: 147,928; +0.32%

Naperville
2010: 141,853; 2014: 146,128; +2.84%

Springfield
2010: 116,250; 2014: 116,809; +0.38%

Peoria
2010: 115,007 ; 2014: 115,828; +0.70%

Elgin
2010: 108,188; 2014: 111,117; +2.75%

Champaign
2010: 81,055; 2014: 84,513; +4.24%

Urbana
2010: 41,250; 2014: 42,044; +1.43%

Bloomington
2010: 76,610; 2014: 78,730; +2.76%

Normal
2010: 52,497; 2014: 54,594; +3.92%

Decatur
2010: 76,122; 2014: 74,010; -2.78%

[aga412]

How much of the population increase in Champaign is artificial? I've never known if they counted the UIUC students in the population of both Champaign and Urbana. Interesting that Elgin is outpacing Aurora in terms of growth and that Aurora has officially hit over 200,000+.

[madpaddy]

Looks like Naperville will be the third most populous city in the state by the 2020 census.

[linicx]

The first five plus Elgin are in Northern Illinois. It is not a big surprise; it is to be expected.

I think something is amiss. I am looking at the US Census Quick Facts for Peoria in the old and new schedules. According to Uncle the estimate for 2013 was 116,513 with a +1.3% change. I cannot find a 2014 estimate for either schedule.

Same can be said for Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington and Chicago. It is a guesstimate.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by aga412

How much of the population increase in Champaign is artificial? I've never known if they counted the UIUC students in the population of both Champaign and Urbana. Interesting that Elgin is outpacing Aurora in terms of growth and that Aurora has officially hit over 200,000+.

The only students that would be counted towards the Champaign census would be permanent residents of Champaign, of which most of those at UIUC aren't.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by linicx

The first five plus Elgin are in Northern Illinois. It is not a big surprise; it is to be expected.

I think something is amiss. I am looking at the US Census Quick Facts for Peoria in the old and new schedules. According to Uncle the estimate for 2013 was 116,513 with a +1.3% change. I cannot find a 2014 estimate for either schedule.

Same can be said for Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington and Chicago. It is a guesstimate.

The Census Bureau estimated a decrease in the population of Peoria and Springfield from 2013 to 2014.

You can search a nice agglomerate set of the data here, for what it's worth: http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral...imates_fo.html

[k3worker]

It's hard to believe that at its peak circa 1980, Decatur was nearing a population of 100,000. Unfortunately for Decatur, it just doesn't have many of the types of economic engines to compete well in an economy that has moved beyond significant heavy manufacturing. It's interesting to note that it's the clear outlier among its peers of a relatively similar size in central Illinois. Even Peoria, where manufacturing has also traditionally been a major component of the local economy, has had some success diversifying its economic base. I'd love to see Decatur catch lightning in a bottle and thrive, but I'm afraid that the condition of state government puts it and other already struggling Illinois cities behind yet another 8 ball.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by k3worker

It's hard to believe that at its peak circa 1980, Decatur was nearing a population of 100,000. Unfortunately for Decatur, it just doesn't have many of the types of economic engines to compete well in an economy that has moved beyond significant heavy manufacturing. It's interesting to note that it's the clear outlier among its peers of a relatively similar size in central Illinois. Even Peoria, where manufacturing has also traditionally been a major component of the local economy, has had some success diversifying its economic base. I'd love to see Decatur catch lightning in a bottle and thrive, but I'm afraid that the condition of state government puts it and other already struggling Illinois cities behind yet another 8 ball.

You're absolutely right, and with the shift of the ADM HQ to Chicago, it'll likely only get worse. Anecdotally, the people I knew who used to live in Decatur either moved outside of Decatur, to Springfield, or out all together. There's not a whole lot left to keep them in Deatur.

[aga412]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

The only students that would be counted towards the Champaign census would be permanent residents of Champaign, of which most of those at UIUC aren't.

Are you sure? My friend said that her brother was there in 09-10 when they did the census and counted him. But hey, what do I know. I don't work for them.

[linicx]

Thanks!

I noticed some glaring errors. Mostly mixing of counties. It is still an educated guess. The biggest surprise is Quincy.

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

The Census Bureau estimated a decrease in the population of Peoria and Springfield from 2013 to 2014.

You can search a nice agglomerate set of the data here, for what it's worth: Census population estimates for each U.S. city, county and state (database) | cleveland.com