This means that Illinois has the fifth-largest population in the United States. It has a population of close to 12.8 million people, which is about 3.9% of the US population.
It is also the 12th most populated state in the United States, behind California.
With a population close to 2.7 million, Illinois’ largest city is Chicago. Springfield serves as the state’s capital city, though. State: “Land of Lincoln” and “Prairie State” are two of the names for the state.
The state is in the middle-east of America. At 149,932 km2, it is the 25th-largest state in terms of land area. In the north, Illinois is bordered by Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan through a water boundary in Lake Michigan. Indiana is to the east, Kentucky to the southeast, and the Mississippi River is to the west.
Based on our research, the population of Illinois will reach 12.785 million by July 1, 2022. For each year, we use the first day of July.
The US Census Bureau usually releases its estimated population data for the same time each year. The average growth rate for the last 10 years since 2011 is -0.05%. We think that using data from the last few years (see the table in the next section) will help us make the estimate more correct.
Table of Contents
Population Growth of Illinois
Looking back at the last 10 years of Illinois’s population, the growth rate isn’t very good. It ranges from 0.23 percent to 0.08 percent, which means that about 30,000 people are lost to the overall population each year.
Since 2014, the growth has stopped. It hasn’t grown in the last three years because there aren’t many jobs in the state. Illinois has a lower population growth rate than the rest of the United States. It is also one of the slowest growing states in the country.
| Year | Population (millions) | Growth rate |
| 2011 | 12.86 | n/a |
| 2012 | 12.87 | 0.08% |
| 2013 | 12.88 | 0.08% |
| 2014 | 12.88 | 0.00% |
| 2015 | 12.86 | -0.16% |
| 2016 | 12.83 | -0.23% |
| 2017 | 12.81 | -0.16% |
| 2018 | 12.82 | 0.08% |
| 2019 | 12.81 | -0.08% |
| 2020 | 12.79 | -0.12% |
| 2021 | 12.791 | 0.01% |
Demographics of Illinois
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49.04 percent of the people in Illinois are men and 50.96 percent are women. This means that the average age of men and women in the state is 36.
Five of the top races for people in Illinois are white (77.29%), black (14.68%), Asian (5.5%), Native (0.6%), and two or more races (1.87 percent ).
Most people in Illinois speak Spanish, Chinese, German, French, Kru, Ibo, and Yoruba, which are all languages that aren’t English; they make up 13.06 percent of the people in the state (0.15 percent ). As you can see, Spanish is the most common non-English language because a lot of Latin American immigrants speak it.
The religious makeup of Illinois is Catholic: 29 percent, Baptist: 11 percent, Christian: 7 percent, Lutheran: 7 percent, Methodist: 6 percent, Not specified: 4 percent, Other: (3 percent ). Roman Catholics make up the largest religious group in Illinois. They are mostly found in and around Chicago, and they make up about 30% of the state’s population.
Population Density of Illinois
Illinois has 89 people per square kilometer, which makes it the 12th most populated state in the United States, right after California. According to New Jersey, which has the most people per square mile, Illinois is close to five times less dense than Illinois
| Position | State | Population Density (per m2) |
| 1 | New Jersey | 470 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | 394 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 336 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 286 |
| 5 | Maryland | 238 |
| 6 | Delaware | 187 |
| 7 | New York | 162 |
| 8 | Florida | 145 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 110 |
| 10 | Ohio | 109 |
| 11 | California | 97 |
| 12 | Illinois | 89 |
Top 5 Largest Cities by Population
The population figures in the table below are based on estimates from the United States Census Bureau. They can change. We will do our best to make the figures as close to the truth as possible.
Chicago is the 3rd most densely populated major city in the United States. It is the most populous city in Illinois and the 3rd most densely populated city in the United States. The city has more than 2.7 million people, which is 21.73 percent of the state’s population. Almost a quarter of the people in the state live in Chicago because there are so many jobs there. The city has 4,593 people per square mile. In 2022, there will be a lot more people living in Chicago population 2022.
This city has the second-largest population in Illinois. It has about 201,000 people, which makes up 1.57 percent of the state’s population. Aurora has been called the “City of Lights” and “The Light of the World.” The city has a lot fewer people than Chicago, almost 10 times less. Aurora’s population in 2022 is interesting, so read more about it here Aurora population 2022.
People live in Joliet, which is 64 km southwest of Chicago. It has a population of more than 148,000 people, which makes up 1.16 percent of the state’s total population. It is the third-largest city in Illinois, after Chicago and Aurora, and it has a lot of people living there. City of Steel, City of Stone, City of Champions, and Prison City are all names for it.
Over 147,000 people live in Rockfort, which makes up 1.14 percent of the state’s population, which is a lot of people. The city has the fourth most people in Rockfort, after Chicago, Aurora, and Joliet. In 2017, a special census was done that put the population at 153,379, which is the same as in 2016.
There are more than 147,000 people in Naperville, but only 1.14 percent of the state’s people live there. A little bit fewer people live in Naperville than in Rockfort. As a whole, Naperville was ranked 11th richest in the country. It was also ranked the richest city in the Midwest. It says “Great Service – All the Time.”
Facts About Illinois
- Illinois was the first state to sign the 13th amendment, which was meant to end slavery.
- Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama have all been president of the United States when they were born in Illinois.
- When the Nabisco factory in Chicago opens, it will be bigger than any bakery in the world. It will be 1,800,000 square feet!
- In Illinois, there is more nuclear power than in any other state in the country.
- There are many things that make Aurora, Colorado, a city full of lights. For one thing, it was the first city in the United States to use electric street lights in all of its streets.
- American scholars used to think that the name “Illinois” in the Miami-Illinois language meant “man” or “men,” but now they think it means “woman.”
- The only three major free zoos in the county are Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. It is the oldest public zoo in the country, and it is one of only three major zoos in the county.
- A free zoo called Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is one of only three major zoos that are big in the county. It is also the oldest public zoo anywhere in the United States.
References
The following links provide data for this topic:
- U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov
- Illinois Government: https://www2.illinois.gov/
- Chicago History: http://www.chicagohistory.org/