What’s the Biggest ‘Boomtown’ in Illinois? It Used to Be a Swamp

Things change and that's rarely been more true than a town in Illinois that is now one of the fastest growing in the state. Way back when it used to be a swamp and I've got history to prove it.

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The narrative about Illinois shared by the mainstream media over the past few years is that Illinois is seeing a huge exodus of residents. Statistically that is true for the state overall, but not for this area in the Land of Lincoln. Yes, 85% of Illinois counties lost population in recent years, but not this one.

What is the biggest 'boomtown' in Illinois?

According to Go Banking Rates which named the biggest 'boomtown' in every state, for Illinois, it's Evanston.

Wikipedia documents the history of Evanston, Illinois and way back in 1830, it wasn't this lush cityscape. It was "mainly uninhabited, consisting largely of wetlands and swampy forest".

This just in. Evanston, Illinois doesn't look like a swam now.

World Population Review shows the huge growth spurt that Evanston, Illinois has experienced in its history.

You can see at the end of the graph that Evanston isn't without its problems. There has been a slow, but steady decline in population in recent years. Does this mean that the biggest 'boomtown' in Illinois will begin to see the exodus of people the majority of the rest of the state has? Only time will tell. But, as it stands as of today, Evanston is one of the positive stories Illinois can share.