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Flight to the Exurbs! An Infographic of Chicago's Population Shift

We've been hearing a lot about Chicago's 2010 census numbers since they were released a couple months ago. In case you missed it, the city lost more than 200,000 souls in the past decade (that's as many people as there are in Des Moines!). Chicago lost 178,000 African-American residents, a trend that coincides with the Plan for Transformation, and the city also lost about 52,000 whites. Where is everyone going? This map from Data Pointed charts Chicagoland's shifting population (red = population loss; blue = population gain), showing that people are leaving the city and the closest suburbs, while sprawling exurbs are becoming more populous. As Aaron Renn (AKA The Urbanophile) explained in February, blacks have been moving to places like Matteson, Lansing, Calumet City, Park Forest, and Richton Park, and far-flung counties like Kendall, Grundy, Boone and Kane are booming. The city can still appeal the 2010 census results, according to Greg Hinz, but the mayor-elect hasn't indicated whether or not he will.
· Maps Of U.S. Population Change, 2000-2010 [Data Pointed]
· Chicago Takes a Census Shellacking [New Geography]
· Chicago ponders whether to appeal Census [Crain's]