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 Illinois suffered its 8th
consecutive year of population decline, a record-setting year that can be
squarely blamed on people moving out of the state, according to estimates
released Dec. 21 by the U.S. Census Bureau. 2021 saw the largest number of
Illinoisans leaving on net in recorded history.
Illinois’ population declined by 113,776 from July 1, 2020, through July 1,
2021. No other Midwestern or neighbor state saw a population decline of more
than 17,000.
Not only was Illinois’ experience with overall population decline much more
severe than peer states, the sole driver of Illinois’ population decline also
stood out. There were 122,460 Illinoisans on net fleeing to other states in
2021, over 9 times the number of residents who left Minnesota, the next closest
state in terms of domestic outmigration.
People leaving for other states also hurt population totals in Ohio, Nebraska,
Kansas, North Dakota and Michigan.
International migration was a boon to state populations during 2021, several
states saw population growth strained by deaths outpacing births during the
year. Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin all experienced “natural
decreases” in their state population.
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While Illinois has been
fortunate to continue to experience “natural increases” in
population as births continue to outpace deaths, the gap between the
two has been narrowing historically and international migration
rates into the state have varied widely. Domestic migration will be
vitally important to reversing Illinois’ population decline.
Traditionally, the
major reasons Illinoisans are choosing to leave the state are for
better housing and employment opportunities, both of which have been
made worse by poor public policy in Illinois. Nearly half of
Illinoisans have thought about moving away, and they said taxes were
their No. 1 reason. Population decline also contributes to the lower
economic prospects of the state.
It remains unclear to what extent these factors contributed to
Illinoisans moving out of state from 2020-2021. Other factors such
as pandemic-related job losses, school closures and government
mandates could also be to blame.
Census data does confirm Illinois’ outmigration-driven population
decline has reached record levels and is more of a problem now than
ever. Regardless of the cause, the desire to leave Illinois needs to
go away for the state population to one day grow again. |
