The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Illinois For 2024


The fastest-growing cities in Illinois are Volo and Pingree Grove for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Is being in an area of Illinois that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?

Depends on who you ask.

Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Chicago and Aurora, while others want peace and quiet like in South Barrington and Carmi, thank you very much.

But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Illinois have grown the fastest.

After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Prairie State that have people climbing over each other to get in.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Illinois For 2024

  1. Volo
  2. Pingree Grove
  3. Hampshire
  4. Manhattan
  5. Yorkville
  6. Gilberts
  7. Mahomet
  8. Savoy
  9. Minooka
  10. Huntley

Fastest Growing Cities In Illinois Map

What’s the fastest growing city in Illinois for 2024? Based on the most recent ACS data, Volo ranks as the fastest-growing city in Illinois. If you happen to be a resident of Volo, you’re probably not surprised to find it on our list.

If you’re surprised — and you’re wondering why these places are a big deal — keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in Illinois grow like weeds.

For more Illinois state reading:

The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Illinois For 2024

1. Volo

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,368
Population 2010: 1,859
Percent Growth 242.5%
Absolute Growth: 4,509
More on Volo: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

2. Pingree Grove

Pingree Grove, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 10,213
Population 2010: 3,780
Percent Growth 170.2%
Absolute Growth: 6,433
More on Pingree Grove: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

3. Hampshire

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 8,113
Population 2010: 5,101
Percent Growth 59.0%
Absolute Growth: 3,012
More on Hampshire: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

4. Manhattan

Manhattan, IL

Source: Flickr User Roadgeek Adam | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,590
Population 2010: 6,511
Percent Growth 47.3%
Absolute Growth: 3,079
More on Manhattan: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

5. Yorkville

Yorkville, IL

Source: Wikipedia User IvoShandor | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 21,273
Population 2010: 15,065
Percent Growth 41.2%
Absolute Growth: 6,208
More on Yorkville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

6. Gilberts

Gilberts, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 8,180
Population 2010: 5,866
Percent Growth 39.4%
Absolute Growth: 2,314
More on Gilberts: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

7. Mahomet

Mahomet, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Dual Freq | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 9,545
Population 2010: 6,888
Percent Growth 38.6%
Absolute Growth: 2,657
More on Mahomet: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

8. Savoy

Savoy, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Panoramio upload bot | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 8,682
Population 2010: 6,388
Percent Growth 35.9%
Absolute Growth: 2,294
More on Savoy: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

9. Minooka

Minooka, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 12,606
Population 2010: 9,522
Percent Growth 32.4%
Absolute Growth: 3,084
More on Minooka: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

10. Huntley

Huntley, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Huntley Library | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 27,652
Population 2010: 21,261
Percent Growth 30.1%
Absolute Growth: 6,391
More on Huntley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Prairie State for 2024

To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:

  • Current Population
  • Population in 2010
  • Growth rate from 2010 to Current (The latest available data which came out in Dec 2022)

We ranked all 330 Illinois cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.

The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Prairie State.

And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:

[Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]

The data has been updated for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the fastest growing cities in Illinois.

Here’s a graph of the cities in Illinois with the most significant percent increase in population:
Fastest Growing Cities in Illinois Graph For 2024

Click to enlarge

Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Illinois, You Know?

So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Illinois are led by Volo which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.

The fastest-growing cities in Illinois are Volo, Pingree Grove, Hampshire, Manhattan, Yorkville, Gilberts, Mahomet, Savoy, Minooka, and Huntley.

It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!

These places have been growing (or shrinking) the slowest (fastest):

  1. East St. Louis
  2. Riverdale
  3. Harvey

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Fastest Growing Places In Illinois For 2024

Rank City Population Population 2010 Growth Absolute Growth
1 Volo 6,368 1,859 242.5% 4,509
2 Pingree Grove 10,213 3,780 170.2% 6,433
3 Hampshire 8,113 5,101 59.0% 3,012
4 Manhattan 9,590 6,511 47.3% 3,079
5 Yorkville 21,273 15,065 41.2% 6,208
6 Gilberts 8,180 5,866 39.4% 2,314
7 Mahomet 9,545 6,888 38.6% 2,657
8 Savoy 8,682 6,388 35.9% 2,294
9 Minooka 12,606 9,522 32.4% 3,084
10 Huntley 27,652 21,261 30.1% 6,391
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.