Chicago Area Loses Population For Third Straight Year

CHICAGO, IL — The population in the Chicago metropolitan area has dropped for a third consecutive year, according to 2017 data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. An estimated 13,286 residents left the Chicago area last year, the report showed, while Southern and Western areas in the U.S. saw population gains.

The number represents the average population loss throughout the Chicago metropolitan area combined; however, suburban counties such as Kane, Will, McHenry and Kendall saw population gains in 2017.

Cook County, on the other hand, has seen a downward population trend since 2015. The drop last year was less than one percent of the population.

The Chicago metropolitan area lost 11,177 residents in 2016 and 3,371 in 2015, according to the Census Bureau.

Image by Amber Fisher