Illinois No Longer 5th Most-Populous State in US: Census Bureau

Thanks to declining population numbers, Illinois is no longer the fifth largest state in the U.S., according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data, released Wednesday, showed Illinois lost 33,703 people between July 2016 and July of this year, the largest numeric decline of any state during that time frame.

The loss brought Illinois’ population down to 12,802,023, just behind Pennsylvania, which sat at 12,805,537.

Pennsylvania, which had been losing population in the previous year, saw a slight increase for this year’s numbers, bringing them to 12,805,537.

Illinois was among eight states to lose population from 2016-17, though officials note the loss is a relatively small percentage change compared to the state’s large population.

Overall, the U.S. population grew by 2.3 million for the time frame.

Here are the 10 most-populous states in the U.S.:

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