"Everyone is leaving Chicago. Nobody wants to live there." If you've been thinking about moving to Chicago, you've heard some version of this. So let me give you a number: Chicago's population is up, for the third year in a row. In this video I separate the headlines from what the data actually shows, what's really happening to Chicago's population, where Illinois residents are moving, which states are sending people here, and what all of it means if you're thinking about buying a home.

I'm Dee Savic, a Chicago real estate broker with 24 years selling here and 27 years living in the city. I have this conversation constantly, someone seriously considering a move, and someone in their life warning them off based on a headline. So let's look at the numbers instead.

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dee.savic@bairdwarner.com · https://deesavic.com

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro: Is everyone really leaving?
1:43 The truth: Chicago's pandemic population drop
2:22 Three straight years of growth
3:19 The number nobody mentions: growth is slowing
4:26 Who's moving TO Illinois
6:04 Who's moving OUT (it's not Florida)
7:02 Chicago vs Indiana: the property tax gap
8:18 Income taxes compared
9:15 Why slow growth still means a hot market
9:49 The bidding wars: real examples
10:21 Would population decline hurt home values?
11:56 So, is everyone leaving Chicago?

QUICK ANSWERS

Q: Is everyone leaving Chicago?
A: No. Chicago's population has grown three years in a row, adding around 51,000 people since 2022, and it's now within about 1% of its 2020 population. It dropped during the early pandemic, like New York, San Francisco, and Boston did, but the decline stopped and the city has been gaining residents since 2023.

Q: Is Chicago's population growth strong?
A: It's real but slowing sharply. Chicago added about 28,000 people between 2023 and 2024, but only about 5,253 between 2024 and 2025, roughly 0.2% in a city of 2.7 million. So "Chicago is growing" and "Chicago's growth is slowing" are both technically true.

Q: Which states send the most people to Illinois?
A: In the most recent year, the top source was Texas (18,000+), then California (15,000+), followed by Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida, and New York. The states people are told "everyone moves to" (Texas, Florida) are also among the biggest sources of people moving into Illinois.

Q: Where do people leaving Illinois go?
A: The number one destination is Indiana (25,000+ in the most recent year), not Florida or Texas. Much of the migration is regional, five of the top 10 destinations are nearby Midwestern states, so it's not simply everyone fleeing to the Sun Belt.

Q: How do Chicago and Indiana property taxes compare?
A: Illinois has one of the highest effective property tax rates in the country, around 1.79% of home value, versus about 0.76% in Indiana (statewide averages). On a $750,000 home that's roughly $13,400 a year versus $5,700, a difference of about $7,700. Always check the actual bill for the actual home, since Cook County bills vary widely.

Q: Does slow population growth mean cheaper Chicago homes?
A: No. What drives prices is how many buyers want the type of home you want in the neighborhood you want, versus how many are available, and North Side inventory is at its lowest on record since 2008. Buyers are still facing 10, 15, even 20 offers on one home. During the pandemic population losses, Chicago prices actually rose about 28% from 2020 to 2022.

RESOURCES
Look up any property's taxes & PIN: https://cookcountypropertyinfo.com
Appeal / protest your property taxes (free): https://cookcountyboardofreview.com

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