WILMETE, Ill. (KMOX) - Illinois has lost more people since the last federal Census than any other state, and it's not even close. Census Bureau data released Tuesday shows a drop of 243,102 from the 2010 Census, with West Virginia having the second-largest loss of just over 68,000.
The state has seen more than 80,000 move from July of 2019 to July 2020, marking the seventh consecutive year of decline.
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By comparison, Missouri ranks 21st in gaining 162,000 residents between the 2010 and 2020 Census counts. Neighboring states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and Kentucky also saw sizeable gains in the mid to upper levels of the charts.
Leading the way was Texas, gaining 4.2 million residents in 10 years, nearly a million of those just since 2018.
The data was analyzed by Illinois non-profit research group Wirepoints. President Ted Debrowski blames the state's politics for the exodus.
"What it means is people are rejecting Illinois' brand of politics and policy. They're finding it easier to move to other states to find their opportunities," He adds. "Illinois politicians need to stop playing the games they've played for decades and need to start passing reforms. Otherwise, we'll continue to lose our best asset; our people."
Census data is used to determine congressional representation and Illinois is set to lose one seat. Missouri and surrounding states will see the same number of congressional districts.
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