Report: Illinois suffered largest population drop in U.S.

Excerpt from Reboot Illinois:

New U.S. Census Bureau data shows Illinois had nearly 10,000 fewer residents in 2014 than in the previous year – the largest numerical decline of any state in the nation and the first statewide population dip since the mid-1980s.

Sherrie Taylor, a researcher at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies (CGS), said six states lost population from 2013-2014: Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Mexico, Alaska and Vermont.

Of those, Illinois easily had the largest numerical population decline – 9,972 people – followed by West Virginia with a loss of 3,269 residents.

CGS receives embargoed U.S. Census Bureau reports several times each year as one of three coordinating agencies of the State Data Center Network. While the latest report focused on counties, NIU researchers are able to extrapolate that data to draw statewide, regional and even national conclusions.

Overall, the U.S. population grew by less than 1 percent. Texas, California and Florida saw the largest gains nationwide…

You can read the rest here, as well as see a map of where Illinoisans are moving. And based on the data, it’s hard to lay all the blame on our long, Midwestern winters.