Moving out of Chicago? You’re not alone. The Midwest city saw the greatest drop in population of the country’s largest metropolitan areas from 2014 to 2015, according to the latest research from ABODO.
According to ABODO, even after accounting for new residents, the population of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin market fell by 0.84 percent, the highest percentage drop of any large metropolitan area in the United States.
The New York-Newark-Jersey City area came in second in this category, seeing its population, even after accounting for new arrivals, fall by 0.82 percent from 2014 to 2015. In third place came Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, which saw a population drop of .74 percent.
Chicago’s population loss isn’t a one-year fluke, either. ABODO looked at the cities with the greatest population loss because of net migration from 2012 through 2015. By this measure, Chicago saw the second-greatest drop in population among big cities in the United States, with the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin market seeing its population drop by 2.06 percent during this time.
Topping the three-year list in population drop was New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area, which a population loss of 2.20 percent during this same time.
Chicago isn’t the only Midwest city seeing population losses during this three-year period. Memphis saw a population drop of 1.77 percent, while Detroit-Warren-Dearborn experienced a drop of 1.40 percent. The population dropped 1.36 percent in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis market, while it fell 1.15 percent in the Cleveland-Elyria market.
