The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2006 population estimates this month, and the big news (via the Journal Star) is that Peoria has dropped from fifth- to seventh-largest city in Illinois:

The top 10 cities in the state ranked by population are: Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Naperville, Joliet, Springfield, Peoria, Elgin, Waukegan and Cicero.

True. But the Bureau also released the figures on Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) for Illinois, and the Peoria MSA is still second-largest in the state. Peoria’s MSA includes five counties: Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Marshall, and Stark.

The nine MSAs in the state ranked by population haven’t changed order since 2000. They remain: Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, Kankakee-Bradley, and Danville. It should be noted, however, that Rockford is creeping up on us. In 2000, Peoria’s MSA had 46,695 more people than Rockford; the 2006 estimate shows a spread of only 21,942.

On a more interesting note, the City of Peoria’s population grew by only 171 people from 2000 to 2006, whereas Peoria’s MSA grew by 3,295. So, we’re not attracting many people to live in the city of Peoria when they move into the area. There’s some discussion going on over at Billy’s place on the reasons for that. In my opinion, the top two reasons are District 150 and taxes.