Is Houston poised to surpass Chicago as 3rd most-populous U.S. city?

According to the most recent U.S. Census data, Illinois continued to experience a population decline, the third-highest in the country, as did Chicago, the state's most populous city.

Illinois' population fell 0.3% from July 2022 to July 2023, tied with Louisiana. New York and Hawaii had the most significant drop at 0.5%. Oregon, California, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia declined between 0.1% and 0.2%. 

The Census found that Chicago lost about 8,000 residents, from 2,672,660 to 2,664,452. In the suburbs, Downers Grove, Joliet, and Naperville gained residents. 

Chicago population decline

The city has been losing residents for several years. Since 2020, the number of people calling Chicago home has declined 3% from 2,746,352. 

Illinois Policy reports that if current trends continue, Houston will overtake Chicago and become the third-biggest city by 2035. 

The Census reported that Illinois also had one of the slowest housing growth rates in the country, trailing only Alaska.

• Alaska (0.1%)
• Rhode Island (0.2%)
• Illinois (0.2%)  

Utah experienced the nation's fastest growth in housing units, with an increase of 2.5% between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, followed by Idaho (2.3%) and South Dakota (2.2%).

What are the largest U.S. cities? 

The 15 largest cities in 2023 remained the same as in 2022, with a few rank changes – Jacksonville, Florida, surpassed Austin, Texas, while Fort Worth, Texas, surpassed San Jose, California.

New York, New York, remained the nation's largest city as of July 1, 2023, with almost 8.3 million people, followed by Los Angeles,  which reached nearly 4 million people.

Other most populated cities in 2023 were:

• Chicago, Illinois (2.66 million).
• Houston, Texas (2.3 million).
• Phoenix, Arizona (1.7 million).
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.6 million).
• San Antonio (1.5 million).
• San Diego, California (1.4 million).
• Dallas (1.3 million).
• Jacksonville, Florida (986,000).
• Austin (980,000).
• Fort Worth, Texas (978,000).
• San Jose (970,000).
• Columbus, Ohio (913,000).
• Charlotte, North Carolina (911,000).

After the 2020 Census, Illinois lost a congressional seat, joining California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in losing seats ahead of the 2022 midterm election.