Census shows what suburbs grew the most

Aurora is now the second-largest town in Illinois — a notch higher than its spot 10 years ago — while Naperville dropped one place to become the fifth-largest town in the state, according to census data released Tuesday.

Official results from the 2010 census put Aurora's population at 197,899 — an increase of 54,909 residents or 38.4 percent.

The number of people in Naperville, meanwhile, climbed 10.5 percent to 141,853, but was ultimately surpassed by Rockford, 152,871, and Joliet, 147,433, which saw a gain of 41,212 people.

Elgin and Waukegan kept their rankings as the eighth- and ninth-largest cities in Illinois with populations of 108,188 and 89,078, respectively.

But Arlington Heights dropped two places to 14th with a 930-person decrease, bringing its population to 75,101. And Schaumburg slipped three spots, to 16th, with 74,227 — a decrease of 1,159 residents.

The statistics equate to increased state revenue to some municipalities, and slight decreases to others. Illinois municipalities will receive about $118 for each new resident counted, according to the state's formula for distributing revenue from income, motor fuel and use taxes.

In Aurora, the population change should generate about $4 million in the coming fiscal year, officials said.

“Costs have been growing, and revenues have not been, so this should help us do the fundamental things we need to do to maintain the quality of life,” Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said.

Weisner said he was somewhat surprised by Aurora's population growth, which came in more than 10,000 residents higher than he expected.

Data pinpointing exactly where the growth occurred has not been made available yet, but Weisner said he believes it was “pretty widespread.”

He attributed the growth to strong schools and parks and a solid business community and work force.

“We're No. 2 in population, but second to none,” he said.

Although census data showed an increase to Naperville's population since the last full census in 2000, Mayor George Pradel noted the city actually lost about 2,500 residents — roughly 2 percent — since a special census in 2008.

“That was a surprise to me,” he said. “I didn't think we'd dropped that many people.”

Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger said the fluctuation could cost the city as much as $200,000 in decreases to per-capita revenue in the coming fiscal year.

“We're going to have to look at all the data before we determine the full impact,” he said. “But it's not going to be terribly significant.”

In Arlington Heights, officials said the population decline was expected and reflective of the community's age and development.

Bill Enright, deputy director of planning and community development, said a redevelopment effort resulted in an increase in the downtown population, but it wasn't enough to counteract drop-offs elsewhere.

“We're at a point in our history where for the last 20 years our population has pretty much stabilized,” he said. “We're pretty much a landlocked community. If we hadn't redeveloped downtown, we would have lost even more population.”

Schaumburg Village President Al Larson said he was not surprised the village lost 1,159 residents.

While there is little room left for additional residential development, Larson said the village remains the largest sales-tax generator in Illinois outside Chicago. He said he was pleased the village made the most of its development opportunities before the housing market turned south.

“We're very fortunate,” he said. “We don't have any vacant subdivisions with the wind blowing through them.”

At the county level, meanwhile, Cook remains the largest in Illinois, with a population of 5,194,675 — down 182,066, or 3.4 percent — since 2000.

The other counties in the top five include DuPage, with a population of 916,924 (1.4 percent increase); Lake, 703,462 (9.2 percent increase); Will, 677,560 (34.9 percent increase); and Kane, 515,269 (27.5 percent increase).