Chicago could soon lose its status as the third-largest city in the U.S., according to data from the Census Bureau.
The numbers released Thursday showed the Windy City lost approximately 0.3% of its population between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023.
According to the data, the city went from a population of 2,672,660 to 2,664,452.
Both New York and Los Angeles, the No. 1 and No. 2 cities when it comes to population size in the U.S., also saw declines in population.
During that same time period, Houston, which has been just behind Chicago in population numbers for several years, continued to grow in size. According to data, the Texas city grew by 0.5% to 2,314,157.
Now, a new analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute predicts Chicago will be overtaken by Houston by 2035 “if population trends hold.”
Chicago is seeing quicker reductions in population than its fellow large cities, according to Census Bureau data. New York, which has shed nearly 550,000 residents since 2019, saw a drop of 77,000 residents last year.
Los Angeles lost only 1,800 people last year, reversing some pandemic-era trends in that category.
For comparison, Chicago is estimated to have lost 8,200 residents during the last year.
As a whole, Illinois also lost population in the last year, though the state has previously filed objections to its Census data.
