New data released by the federal government today says Evanston’s population, after increasing until mid-decade, now is smaller than it was in 2010.
The Census Bureaus’s annual population estimate shows a population decline for Evanston of 0.65 percent — that’s twice the size of the population decline for the City of Chicago, which has lost 0.31 percent of its population since 2010.
It’s the fourth year of population declines for Evanston, as well as for Chicago and many other commuities in the metro area.
The declines in population also hit other major metro areas with New York City and Los Angeles also falling and once-fast-growing Houston’s increase slowing to a crawl.
The share of Evanston’s population that is black declined from 19.9 percent to 18.5 percent between 2010 and 2017, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The white population fell from 70.6 percent to 70.3 percent, while the Asian population increased from 9.1 percent to 11.4 percent.
Hispanics, who can be of any race, increased from 8.8 percent to 11.5 percent of Evanston’s population.
Less population and less affordable housing.
I know this is simplistic, but if Evanston’s population declined by almost 2,000 in 4 years, would this decrease demand for housing cause, an increase in the availability of housing and therefore reduce price of housing?