Naperville overtakes Joliet as state’s third-most populous city, data shows

West suburban Naperville is now the third-most populous city in Illinois, overtaking Joliet, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

CHICAGO - West suburban Naperville is now the third-most populous city in Illinois, overtaking Joliet, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The agency released its 2024 estimates last week, which found a change in the rankings for the Illinois cities with the largest populations.

By the numbers:

Naperville, the wealthy western suburb, is now the third-largest city in Illinois in terms of population with 153,124 residents. It overtook southwest suburban Joliet, which is now No. 4 on the list with 151,837 residents.

Both cities saw growth since the 2020 census. Naperville grew by about 2.4% and Joliet grew by about 0.9%, per the data.

Chicago remains the state’s largest city with a little over 2.7 million residents, although the latest estimate shows about a 1% decrease in the population since the 2020 census.

Aurora is the second-most populous city in Illinois with more than 180,000 residents.

Rockford is the largest city outside of the Chicago metro area and the fifth-most populous city in the state with a population of more than 147,000.

Big picture view:

Overall, the U.S. population is now estimated to be around 340 million, and Illinois’ population is pegged at 12.7 million, per the latest data.

Here are the top 10 most populous cities in Illinois: