New Census Bureau estimates indicate Evanston’s population increased slightly last year, its third year in a row of gradual growth.
The city’s population is now estimated at 75,236, up 1.34 percent from what it was at the time of the 2000 census.
The Census numbers indicate that between July 1 in 2004 and 2005 Evanston had a net gain of 454 new residents.
Cook County as a whole has lost 1.36 percent of its population since 2000, while many communities in the collar counties, especially south and west of Chicago, have seen major population increases.
Plainfield, in Will County, grew by 116 percent to 28,162 residents over the past five years.
Over the past five years Chicago lost 1.85 percent of its population, Arlington Heights lost 1.86 percent, Wilmette lost 2.64 percent. But Skokie saw its population grow 2.10 percent and Glenview, aided by redevelopment of the former naval air station into The Glen, a large residential and commercial development, saw a population gain of 9.90 percent.
Evanston’s population is still below the peak of 80,113 it reached in 1970, but has rebounded from an estimated low of 71,570 in 1986.
The decline was widely attributed to a trend toward smaller families after the post-war baby boom.
Recent new construction in Evanston has consisted largely of condominiums built close to mass transit that appeal to young singles and older couples who no longer have children at home. That’s tended to further reduce the average family size in the city.
Related links
U.S. Census Bureau – Population Estimates
Chicago Tribune – Plainfield set pace for area growth