Carbondale Reporter

Illinois takes the lead for the largest population decline against any other state in the nation, losing 79,487 residents from July 2019 to July 2020.

The decrease in residents is the worst Illinois has seen since World War II with New York being the only state trailing, according to the data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois Review reported.

The U.S. Census released that in 2019, 105,000 residents of Illinois left for other states. This number means that one resident moved out of the state every five minutes. This means that California and New York lost more residents to other states in comparison to Illinois.  

Over a decade, Illinois lost 168,700 people between 2010-2019. 

If Illinois had grown at the national average pace since 2007, it would be at 1.14 million residents or 9% higher than it currently is. The population growth would have stimulated the state's economy by bringing $78 billion in additional spending for the state.  

“For the past decade, people have questioned their ability to plant or maintain roots in Illinois. This uncertainty has manifested itself in year after year of laggard economic performance and population loss leading to Illinois’ worst decade on record. A shrinking state means those who stay are left picking up the tab for government spending. If Illinois’ population growth had simply kept pace with the national average, its economy would have been significantly larger. In 2019, that larger economy could have generated as much as $3.45 billion in additional state tax revenues – more than Gov. J.B. Pritzker hopes to generate with a progressive income tax hike. Compounded, it might have been enough to avoid many of the state’s recent tax hikes which have likely spurred more people to leave," Orphe Divounguy, chief economist for the Nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute, said.

Illinois Policy stated that in order to reverse the trend of population loss, lawmakers should look at policies that attract and retain residents. 

"Pro-growth solutions that will encourage private investment and give businesses and residents a reason to stay include reining in the cost of government, managing budget instability and protecting against corruption,” Illinois Policy reported.