United States · state

Illinois population 2026

Q: What is the population of Illinois in 2026?

The latest official figure is 12,719,141, for 1 July 2025 (US Census Bureau). If last year’s change continues, Illinois would have about 12.7 million people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. The Census Bureau publishes new state estimates each December.

Illinois has 12,719,141 people on the latest official figure, for 1 July 2025, 16,108 more than a year earlier (+0.13%). It is 6th of the US’s 50 states and DC by population, home to 3.7% of the US’s people.

If last year’s change continues: about 12.7 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

Illinois in numbers

Population: 12.7 million 1 July 2025
Change in a year: +0.13% +16,108 people
Change since 2020: −0.60% from 12.8 million
Share of the US: 3.7% 6th of 50 states and DC
Population density: 89per km² 143,778 km²
Births in the year: 125 thousand deaths: 114 thousand
International migration: +45 thousand net arrivals from abroad
Moves within the US: −40 thousand more people left than moved in

In the latest year births outnumbered deaths by 10,903, 44,752 more people arrived from abroad than left, and 40,017 more people moved to the rest of the US than moved in.

That is about as many people as Bolivia (12.7 million).

Population of Illinois by year

12.7M

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
2010	12,840,545
2011	12,867,783
2012	12,883,029
2013	12,895,778
2014	12,885,092
2015	12,859,585
2016	12,821,709
2017	12,779,893
2018	12,724,685
2019	12,667,017
2020	12,795,348
2021	12,703,354
2022	12,609,577
2023	12,633,389
2024	12,703,033
2025	12,719,141

Year	Population	Change	%
2025	12,719,141	+16,108	+0.13%
2024	12,703,033	+69,644	+0.55%
2023	12,633,389	+23,812	+0.19%
2022	12,609,577	−93,777	−0.74%
2021	12,703,354	−91,994	−0.72%
2020	12,795,348	+128,331	+1.01%
2019	12,667,017	−57,668	−0.45%
2018	12,724,685	−55,208	−0.43%
2017	12,779,893	−41,816	−0.33%
2016	12,821,709	−37,876	−0.29%
2015	12,859,585	−25,507	−0.20%
2014	12,885,092	−10,686	−0.08%
2013	12,895,778	+12,749	+0.10%
2012	12,883,029	+15,246	+0.12%
2011	12,867,783	+27,238	+0.21%

2010–2019 are Vintage 2020 estimates and 2020–2025 are Vintage 2025, so the step between 2019 and 2020 is partly a change of base.

Illinois among the US’s states

Full ranking →

States of the US by population
#
1	California	39,355,309	−0.02%	11.5%	98
2	Texas	31,709,821	+1.25%	9.3%	47
3	Florida	23,462,518	+0.84%	6.9%	169
4	New York State	20,002,427	+0.01%	5.9%	164
5	Pennsylvania	13,059,432	+0.10%	3.8%	113
6	Illinois	12,719,141	+0.13%	3.7%	89
7	Ohio	11,900,510	+0.34%	3.5%	113
8	Georgia (US State)	11,302,748	+0.88%	3.3%	76
9	North Carolina	11,197,968	+1.32%	3.3%	89
10	Michigan	10,127,884	+0.28%	3.0%	69
11	New Jersey	9,548,215	+0.44%	2.8%	501
12	Virginia	8,880,107	+0.69%	2.6%	87
13	Washington State	8,001,020	+0.92%	2.3%	47
14	Arizona	7,623,818	+0.89%	2.2%	26
15	Tennessee	7,315,076	+0.88%	2.1%	69
16	Massachusetts	7,154,084	+0.22%	2.1%	354
17	Indiana	6,973,333	+0.56%	2.0%	75
18	Missouri	6,270,541	+0.43%	1.8%	35
19	Maryland	6,265,347	+0.32%	1.8%	249
20	Colorado	6,012,561	+0.40%	1.8%	22
21	Wisconsin	5,972,787	+0.26%	1.7%	43
22	Minnesota	5,830,405	+0.57%	1.7%	28
23	South Carolina	5,570,274	+1.46%	1.6%	72
24	Alabama	5,193,088	+0.58%	1.5%	40
25	Louisiana	4,618,189	+0.07%	1.4%	41
26	Kentucky	4,606,864	+0.50%	1.3%	45
27	Oregon	4,273,586	+0.19%	1.3%	17
28	Oklahoma	4,123,288	+0.62%	1.2%	23
29	Connecticut	3,688,496	+0.38%	1.1%	294
30	Utah	3,538,904	+1.02%	1.0%	17
31	Nevada	3,282,188	+0.88%	1.0%	12
32	Iowa	3,238,387	+0.25%	0.9%	22
33	Arkansas	3,114,791	+0.60%	0.9%	23
34	Kansas	2,977,220	+0.40%	0.9%	14
35	Mississippi	2,954,160	+0.14%	0.9%	24
36	New Mexico	2,125,498	−0.06%	0.6%	7
37	Idaho	2,029,733	+1.44%	0.6%	10
38	Nebraska	2,018,006	+0.62%	0.6%	10
39	West Virginia	1,766,147	−0.07%	0.5%	28
40	Hawaii	1,432,820	−0.15%	0.4%	86
41	New Hampshire	1,415,342	+0.48%	0.4%	61
42	Maine	1,414,874	+0.46%	0.4%	18
43	Montana	1,144,694	+0.63%	0.3%	3
44	Rhode Island	1,114,521	+0.37%	0.3%	416
45	Delaware	1,059,952	+0.94%	0.3%	210
46	South Dakota	935,094	+0.86%	0.3%	5
47	North Dakota	799,358	+0.75%	0.2%	5
48	Alaska	737,270	+0.10%	0.2%	1
49	District of Columbia	693,645	+0.34%	0.2%	4,381
50	Vermont	644,663	−0.29%	0.2%	27
51	Wyoming	588,753	+0.35%	0.2%	2

Largest cities in Illinois

City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.

Chicago2,664,452
Aurora200,661
Rockford148,278
Joliet147,861
Naperville147,100
Peoria115,070

Air quality in Illinois today

Hourly AQI and a 48-hour forecast.

Chicago

Questions

What is the population of Illinois in 2026?

The latest official figure is 12,719,141, for 1 July 2025 (US Census Bureau). If last year’s change continues, Illinois would have about 12.7 million people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. The Census Bureau publishes new state estimates each December.

Is Illinois’s population growing or shrinking?

It grew by 16,108 people (+0.13%) in the latest year, and has changed −0.60% since 2020. In the latest year births outnumbered deaths by 10,903, 44,752 more people arrived from abroad than left, and 40,017 more people moved to the rest of the US than moved in.

How does Illinois rank in the US?

Illinois is 6th of the US’s 50 states and DC, with 3.7% of the people. California is the largest, with 39.4 million.

What is the population density of Illinois?

About 89 people per km², on 143,778 km². Land area, US Census Bureau Gazetteer.

What is the largest city in Illinois?

Chicago, with about 2.7 million people in the city proper. Metro areas are larger, and years differ (GeoNames).

Source and method

US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. US government work, public domain. Land area, US Census Bureau Gazetteer. The Census Bureau publishes new state estimates each December. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for the US, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.

Cite this page: Illinois population, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/united-states/illinois/

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