U.S. Census
The latest news and analysis on the United States Census with a focus on population trends in Chicago and Illinois.
Community leaders in Greater Englewood and Austin think a concerted effort to close the gaps in homeownership, wages and life expectancy between Black and white Chicagoans could stem the city’s loss of Black residents.
Chicago has been losing Black residents for decades — some with hopes of finding better economic opportunities, and others seeking easier access to basic resources like grocery stores.
Though Chicago’s population grew 2% from 2010 to 2020, Englewood’s fell more than 20%, according to Census Bureau data, and West Englewood’s population fell 16%. Those areas had the largest percentage losses in the city.
Republicans say the legislative boundaries signed into law in June will “be declared void” because of population differences that exceed federal limits. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s spokeswoman said Democrats are still “analyzing the data. We have no further updates.”
The latest Census numbers show the Latino population growing, and surpassing, the Black population as the largest racial or ethnic group in Chicago, Cook County and in Illinois. And that’s raising questions and sparking discussions about power among politicians and advocates.
The Census Bureau has been working since 2015 to find a different way to ask questions that yielded more informative and realistic results.
Of the more than 50,000 residents added over the past decade to the city’s total population, most are Latino and Asian.
“Synthetic data” involves manipulating the numbers widely used for economic and demographic research to obscure the identities of people who provided information.
Texas and Florida, two Republican Sunbelt giants, will gain congressional seats from the 2020 census as chillier climes like New York and Ohio lose them.
Estimates suggest the city lost more than 7,000 residents from 2017 to 2018.