U.S. Census Bureau Issues July 1, 2005 Population Estimates
for Municipalities Located in Northeastern Illinois (6-21-06)
 

2005 Population Estimates for 272 Northeastern Illinois Municipalities: HTML      XLS file      PDF file

2005 Population Estimates for All Municipalities in the State of Illinois XLS file      PDF file

Illinois Municipalities with Populations of 10,000 or More Ranked by Numeric & Percent Change: XLS file      PDF file

Map Showing 2000-2005 Population Growth Rates for 272 Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois PDF file (1.0 MB)

For the fifth year in a row, the city of Joliet ranked among the 20 fastest growing places out of the 254 cities in the U.S. with populations of at least 100,000, according to new 2005 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau today.  Joliet, located about 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, was estimated to have an average annual growth rate of 5.0 percent, and cumulative growth of 27.5 percent between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2005, placing it 12^th in rate of growth nationally for the five year period.  Since 2000, Joliet, along with two other Northeastern Illinois cities – Aurora (ranked 26^th in rate of growth) and Naperville (ranked 50^th) are among the only places (three in Illinois and two in Kansas) on the list of the 50 fastest-growing large cities that are not in either the southern or western United States.
 

• Chicago, the nation’s third largest city as of July 1, 2005, had a small estimated population loss from July 1, 2004 to July 1, 2005, thereby ranking it 217^th in population growth rate among the 254 largest cities in the nation. Chicago is in Cook County and contains over half of the county’s population.
   

• Aurora, Naperville, and Joliet are all on the southwest periphery of Chicago.  Aurora is located in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties; Naperville is in DuPage and Will Counties; and Joliet is in Will and Kendall Counties.  Aurora ranked 131^st in population size and 87^th in population growth rate from July 1, 2004 to July 1, 2005; Naperville ranked 163^rd in size and 95^th in its rate of growth; and Joliet ranked 170^th in size and 15^th in growth rate.  Joliet started the decade as the 217^th largest city and has moved up substantially in only five years.
   

In addition to places of 100,000 or more, the Census Bureau also released July 1, 2005 population estimates for all municipalities in the U.S.  In Illinois, looking at municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more, 24 of the 27 cities and towns growing at least 20% were located in the four collar counties of Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.  Anchored at the north, northwest, west and southwest edges of the Northeastern Illinois region, the four fastest growing municipalities – Huntley, Round Lake, Montgomery, and Plainfield – are all at least 40 miles away from downtown Chicago and have more than doubled in population between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2005.

The recent growth trend in the region's outer ring municipalities can also be seen in places with populations under 10,000. By July 1, 2005, growth in Gilberts (northwest of Elgin), Indian Creek (south of Mundelein and Vernon Hills), Sugar Grove (west of Aurora) and Minooka (southwest of Joliet) had exceeded 100 percent since the 2000 Census.

Northeastern Illinois Municipalities Estimated to Have Added 4,000 or More People from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 Rank Geographic Area Population estimates Number Change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 1-Jul-2005 April 2000 Estimates Base 1 Joliet 136,208 106,870 29,338 2 Aurora 168,181 143,108 25,073 3 Romeoville 36,396 21,134 15,262 4 Plainfield 28,162 13,264 14,898 5 Naperville 141,579 128,682 12,897 6 Bolingbrook 68,365 56,381 11,984 7 Huntley 17,674 5,745 11,929 8 Round Lake 14,803 5,913 8,890 9 Tinley Park 57,477 48,823 8,654 10 Lockport 22,161 15,150 7,011 11 Carpentersville 37,204 30,594 6,610 12 Montgomery 11,959 5,542 6,417 13 Algonquin 29,022 22,946 6,076 14 Crest Hill 19,438 13,475 5,963 15 Frankfort 15,819 10,433 5,386 16 New Lenox 23,197 17,968 5,229 17 Lake in the Hills 28,786 23,627 5,159 18 South Elgin 20,758 16,144 4,614 19 Channahon 12,218 7,621 4,597 20 Sugar Grove 8,416 3,985 4,431 21 Shorewood 12,114 7,725 4,389 22 St. Charles 32,332 27,953 4,379 23 Minooka 8,403 4,025 4,378 24 Orland Park 55,461 51,122 4,339 25 Elgin 98,645 94,628 4,017 Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Division, 6/21/06.

Northeastern Illinois Municipalities Estimated to Have Grown Over 45 Percent from  April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 Rank Geographic Area Population estimates Percent Change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 1-Jul-2005 April 2000 Estimates Base 1 Gilberts 4,869 1,279 280.69% 2 Huntley 17,674 5,745 207.64% 3 Indian Creek 538 194 177.32% 4 Round Lake 14,803 5,913 150.35% 5 Montgomery 11,959 5,542 115.79% 6 Plainfield 28,162 13,264 112.32% 7 Sugar Grove 8,416 3,985 111.19% 8 Minooka 8,403 4,025 108.77% 9 Richmond 2,215 1,159 91.11% 10 Prairie Grove 1,814 960 88.96% 11 Hainesville 3,765 2,077 81.27% 12 Lakemoor 5,085 2,817 80.51% 13 Round Lake Heights 2,370 1,328 78.46%