By: Ted Dabrowski and Nick Binotti
Take a couple of minutes to analyze a recent U.S. Census map of the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and you’ll find the nation’s two extremes in population change.
One state is almost all dark green. That means its MSAs each grew 1 to 2 percent over the last year. That state is Florida, which had four of the nation’s top five fastest-growing metropolitan areas in 2023. Florida’s overall population growth ranked second nationally last year.
The other state is almost all purple, which means its MSAs each shrank by half a percent or more. That state is Illinois, the nation’s third-biggest population loser in 2023. Every one of Illinois’ eight MSA’s lost population last year.
Below we lay out Florida’s ten fastest growing MSAs and compare them to Illinois’ eight MSAs, all shrinkers. The numbers speak for themselves.
A final thing to note about the map. Check out all the green in the states surrounding Illinois. How much longer can Illinois’ leaders deny population loss?
Read more from Wirepoints:
- New Census data: 75% of Illinois cities shrank last year, Chicago population drop nation’s 3rd-worst
- New Census release: 2023 data shows counties across Illinois still losing population
- The well-educated are fleeing Illinois, too
- As population woes continue, Illinois’ loss of congressional seats could accelerate
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
that’s weird. I live in Illinois, and I want to move to Florida. I’m used to tornadoes, and I think I handle hurricanes.
The biggest issue with IL. Is the amount of layers of government. All getting pensions that are one of the best in the country. Chicago largest employers is government. We the tax payer have to pay for it. When there’s too many takers and not enough givers this is what happens. Last one out turn off the lights
our government is extremely corrupt too.
Maybe because I used to be indirectly in this biz, I’m retired hopefully? But for me, no stat more blatantly indicates the contrast between Illinois decline and a booming Florida, Texas, NC, etc than looking at ‘Housing Starts Per 1,000 Population by State‘. Although Florida, Texas, etc are tapering off this year because they’ve amazingly overbuilt and interest rate are high. Per this recent article, for 2023 (https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/housing-starts): Illinois Housing Starts Per 1,000 Population at 1.34 (16,863 new housing units) Florida Housing Starts Per 1,000 Population at 8.57 (193,788 new housing units) Absolutely mind blowing SHOCKING!!! All are neighboring states… Read more »
you can look at this shocking map/graph!!
https://ipropertymanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/26976/page-1-8.webp
Boca Raton facts that may surprise you: Education, wealth, housing (palmbeachpost.com)
Beats living in the Chitty.
The Dems are counting on increasing migrant numbers to improve census numbers. Yeah, Pritzker complains that nursing homes and homeless are undercounted. Meanwhile, IL people with money are moving out, while the incoming population has none and is government dependent. I rely on the IRS numbers AGI that tells how much money is leaving and where it’s going to.
Population is trickling out of IL. Not a mass exodus like the media likes to portray. People retiring and kidless remote workers able to relocate to tax advantage states (FL, TN and SC). Loss of 16K in a metro area of over 9 million is a drop in the bucket. Making a mountain out of a molehill.
Clean up your language or you get blocked.
Whether it’s a trickle or an exodus, it’s money and assets that are leaving, like high income people like Ken Griifin and his employees. Money leaving, no incoming money.
Combined with the dramatically declining CPS student head counts, it is a sign of a city with less and less vitality. One can dismiss the importance of remote workers and retirees leaving, but those groups have money that they won’t be spending in Chicago.
Only incoming illegals
IL is something like 48th or 49th in population growth, and FAR above says, “No big deal!”
Governments rely on tax revenues to fund services. Illinois is suffering a net loss in taxable income of its residents related to net outmigration. One can argue that the number is small, as Mr. FAR does, but leaks have a tendency to increase, and don’t self-seal. And the average income of the out-migraters is significantly higher than the in-migraters, which does affect tax revenues. In addition, Illinois lost another House representative in the last census, and Florida gained one. Illinois used to have 27 reps, now it has 17. Florida used to have 4 reps, now it has 28. Like… Read more »
Yet overall tax revenue has increased from 36 billion when JB took office to over 52 billion now. People can argue over population all they want but it’s tax dollars that matter and we have not had a “steady decline” in tax revenue. That’s just not based on facts.
Although I do agree with you about changing the vulgar name. It serves no purpose other than letting everyone know he’s not serious.
You are only half correct, as usual. Tax revenue in 2019 was about $42.5B, not 36B, and in 2023 it was $50B, not $52B. That’s a 17% increase in tax revenue during the years JB was in office. However, according to the BLS CPI inflation calculator, $42.5B in January 2019 is only $51.79B in Dec. 2023, so our taxes are keeping the ‘official’ Biden Administration rate of inflation, which is dubious at best. So we are not growing, we are at best, keeping steady.
Don’t forget why more taxes were collected. Gasoline taxes up 100%/license plates fees from $101 to $151/liquor-cigarettes-gambling and most other taxes went up. Property taxes are up. Now taxes on cannabis/sports betting now legal with more taxes/etc and it is easy to see how revenue has grown.
What I would like to see is a list of taxes that went down and also a list of reforms to help the average citizen.
Here is a list to make most of us sick.
https://tax.illinois.gov/research/publications/listofalltaxes.html
Tax rev. has increased because jp has raised and is squeezing more tax out of people staying here. Pop has decreased!!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that Illinois income tax has quadrupled in the last 14 years (approximately). Higher taxes on those who choose to stay, isn’t a sustainable long term plan.
I agree I should not have included “tax revenue” in my”steady decline” clause where I referenced declining population and influence. My mistake. But my point is that Illinois risks slowly becoming an undesirable place to live. Tax rates can be raised, but people and corporations can and will change their behavior to mitigate that, and moving out is one manifestation. The state already has a poor bond rating which makes borrowing more expensive, and it has the second highest property taxes in the country. I suspect there will be another effort to institute a progressive income tax. Keeping up with… Read more »
You are oblivious to the great amount of harm the public sector has caused to the honest working man and his family. That is why so many are leaving for Florida and Texas. You can only squeeze someone so much till they cannot take it anymore.
One man’s Great Harm is another man’s boat moored in Punta Gorda.
One man’s Great Harm is another man’s boat moored in P u n t ah G o r daH!.
Puhntuh Goarduh.
the real spelling put my comment into spam LOL so I had to write it like that
AKA, these are the people who have exceeded their thresholds of pain. Some will exceed their thresholds based on a single action instituted by IL that is averse to the taxpayer/resident and has been piled onto the very many other averse actions.
If so then maybe jp will lower property and gas taxes and so on and so on
FAR – what of the income difference between those leaving and those arriving? I realize you must have a superior education, but the gap is material and certainly doesn’t help the fisc. And pointing this out doesn’t make one a Republican.
I bet you thought the riots of 2020 were mostly peaceful protests. You are missing the point, even if Illinois is breakeven, it is losing. Your position is like one football team saying we are averaging ONLY a minus 2 yards on offense per game while your opponent is racking up 500 yards of offense per game. It’s the difference between winning and losing but low information voting useful idiots like you are so blinded by your own lack of common sense you would have to get smarter just to be stupid.
But wouldn’t it be better to be growing the population, showing that your state government is doing a good job. Property taxes are second highest in the nation behind New Jersey, pretty sure that’s a reason for little to no growth. Corruption is so bad in Illinois people from other states just laugh when you tell them where you are from. But looking at your posted name, pretty good bet I’m relying to a moron!
I am guessing that you cannot see my hand gesture pointing towards you.
Who downvoted this? Obviously not anyone who lives in Illinois.
probably PPF
Do down votes hurt your feelings? Let me guess, you find them “rude”, “evil” and just “nasty”. lol
Here’s JB splaning away Illinois population loss, (https://youtu.be/yVGMNpz80no?si=v1WW8zM685lvwaZn)
Nothing to see here move along. Good ol’
El Gordo everything is ippy pippy. Happiness covers Illinois, people are all
Smiling and dancing in the streets.
I see it everyday don’t you! People have to
Much money keep raising all taxes.
……..he’s not very convincing