Illinois lost nearly 80,000 residents in 2020, marking the seventh straight year of population decline, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Illinois’ population is now 12,587,530, a decline of almost 2 percent since the beginning of the decade. Over that time period, West Virginia was the only state to see a higher rate of population loss.
The new population data come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Population Estimates, released in late December 2020. The estimates are not based on the results of the 2020 census, which are not yet available.
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has analyzed recent census estimates to provide a deeper look at population trends across both Illinois and the seven-county CMAP region.