Is Illinois's population growing or shrinking?
Updated annually
It grew by 67,900 between 2023 and 2024. That’s more than the population of the city of Palatine. Changes in population reflect birth and death rates, immigration patterns, regional shifts, and even the overall health of the economy. Illinois’s 0.54% annual increase was primarily driven by immigration to the state. In the decade between 2014 and 2024, Illinois’s population declined by 2%.
+67.9K
population change (2023 to 2024)
+0.54%
percent change in population (2023 to 2024)
Since 2000, Illinois' population increased in 16 of 24 years. The largest increase occurred between 2023 and 2024, when it gained 67,900 residents. The state's largest decline during the 21st century occurred between 2020 and 2021 when it lost 98,400 residents.
Illinois gained 67,900 residents between 2023 and 2024.
Annual population change
A state’s population is influenced by three factors:
- Natural population change: If births outnumber deaths in a given year, natural population growth is positive. If deaths exceed births, it is negative. Between 2023 to 2024 natural population change was positive in Illinois, with births exceeding deaths by 11,000.
- Immigration: international migration directly into or out of a state. If more people move in than move out, population change from immigration is positive. If more people move out than move in, it’s negative. Illinois’s population change from immigration was positive, with about 113,000 more people coming from another country to Illinois than leaving.
- Domestic migration, moving between states: Illinois’s population change from domestic migration was negative, with about 56,200 more people leaving for another state than moving in.
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Between 2023 and 2024, immigration was the primary driver of population growth in Illinois.
Components of population change
Among 102 county equivalents, Cook County had the largest population growth in Illinois, welcoming 40,095 new residents. St. Clair County lost the most, with a loss of 945 residents.
Kendall County led Illinois in percent population increase between 2023 and 2024 at 2.1 percent. Alexander County ranked last with a 2.7 percent decline.
Between 2023 and 2024, Kendall County gained 2.1% in population, the largest increase in Illinois.
Population change
Between 2014 and 2024, Illinois’s population has declined by 2%. During that same period, the US population grew by 6.5%. Illinois ranks 49th among states in population growth over that decade.
Illinois ranked 49th in population growth between 2014 and 2024.
Percent change in population
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
