Shocking Data Proves Population in Illinois Grew Big Time in 2024

Are you ready for a popular narrative to be shattered? Those that love to talk about how everyone is leaving Illinois will have some explaining to do as new data from the US Census shows that population in Illinois grew big time in 2024.

I will admit I was more than a little surprised when I saw new numbers just released by the US Census Bureau. They dropped a plethora of numbers about how the population in each state increased or decreased from 2023 to 2024. The data for Illinois is a game changer.

How many people did Illinois gain in 2024 from 2023?

On July 1, 2023, the population of Illinois was 12,642,259.

On July 1, 2024, the population of Illinois was 12,710,158.

Even with my admittedly limited math skills, that's a net gain of 67,899! Boy, am I glad that phones have calculators these days.

It's not all roses and sunshine for Illinois, though. If you look back to the last official complete census in 2020, the population in Illinois is still down from that year when the state had a population of 12,821,814. Still, let's accept the good news for what it is. The shocking GAIN of people in Illinois from one year to the next.

The question now is will this increase of people choosing Illinois as a home continue or is this a one-year blip? Time literally will tell the tale. Let's check back in 2025 and see what the numbers say then.