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When the U.S. Census Bureau released Illinois’ population totals last week, their findings showed a significant increase in the populations of both East Peoria and Tazewell County.
Between the national census years of 2000 and 2010, East Peoria’s population increased 3.4 percent, from 22,638 to 23,402.
East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus said that he was pleased with the initial numbers released by the Census Bureau.
“I’m happy to see that we’re increasing out population. I think that’s important,” Mingus said. “People are finding East Peoria a pleasant place to live (with a) high quality of life.”
While East Peoria is a city on the move with its aggressive building projects like the Bass Pro Shop and downtown development, Mingus said that he didn’t think those projects played a part in the uptick of the population over the last decade.
“I’m not sure that (the developments) had a tremendous amount of relevance at this point with the numbers going up,” he said. “I do think that it will have a major impact in the future.”
Mingus added that upcoming developments in East Peoria could have an impact by the time the next census is taken.
“As things develop here, I think you’ll see a greater number of people migrating to the area,” he said. “Picture those areas as a mecca of opportunity for employment, an opportunity for shopping, an opportunity for people to live. The urbanism concept that will be demonstrated there is going to be attractive for many people.
“I think we’ll find folks actually attracted there for the residents and the ripple effect into the entire region, and particularly East Peoria will be affected,” he added.
Although the population growth was taken as good news by Mingus, not all of the data released by the Census Bureau was positive.
The number of vacant housing units rose from 4.8 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent in 2010, with 624 of the city’s 10,590 housing units currently going uninhabited.
Mingus said that he finds those numbers concerning.
“Certainly that’s always a concern. We want people to fill every house,” he said. “We’re hopeful that as the economy improves, that that will be remedied,” he said.
Despite the rosy census numbers, Mingus said his focus will continue to be on improving the city’s standing.
“We’re always happy to have more people coming to East Peoria. I want that to increase even more in the future,” he said.
“We have our areas of concern, areas that we want to improve. We’re not a utopia, but certainly we want to be the best we can and strive for excellence for our citizens,” he added.
East Peoria was not the only local entity to experience population growth over the past 10 years. Tazewell County also experienced a significant jump in its population.
The population in Tazewell County rose 5.4 percent over the last decade, from 128,485 residents in 2000 to 135,394 in 2010.
When the U.S. Census Bureau released Illinois’ population totals last week, their findings showed a significant increase in the populations of both East Peoria and Tazewell County.
Between the national census years of 2000 and 2010, East Peoria’s population increased 3.4 percent, from 22,638 to 23,402.
East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus said that he was pleased with the initial numbers released by the Census Bureau.
“I’m happy to see that we’re increasing out population. I think that’s important,” Mingus said. “People are finding East Peoria a pleasant place to live (with a) high quality of life.”
While East Peoria is a city on the move with its aggressive building projects like the Bass Pro Shop and downtown development, Mingus said that he didn’t think those projects played a part in the uptick of the population over the last decade.
“I’m not sure that (the developments) had a tremendous amount of relevance at this point with the numbers going up,” he said. “I do think that it will have a major impact in the future.”
Mingus added that upcoming developments in East Peoria could have an impact by the time the next census is taken.
“As things develop here, I think you’ll see a greater number of people migrating to the area,” he said. “Picture those areas as a mecca of opportunity for employment, an opportunity for shopping, an opportunity for people to live. The urbanism concept that will be demonstrated there is going to be attractive for many people.
“I think we’ll find folks actually attracted there for the residents and the ripple effect into the entire region, and particularly East Peoria will be affected,” he added.
Although the population growth was taken as good news by Mingus, not all of the data released by the Census Bureau was positive.
The number of vacant housing units rose from 4.8 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent in 2010, with 624 of the city’s 10,590 housing units currently going uninhabited.
Mingus said that he finds those numbers concerning.
“Certainly that’s always a concern. We want people to fill every house,” he said. “We’re hopeful that as the economy improves, that that will be remedied,” he said.
Despite the rosy census numbers, Mingus said his focus will continue to be on improving the city’s standing.
“We’re always happy to have more people coming to East Peoria. I want that to increase even more in the future,” he said.
“We have our areas of concern, areas that we want to improve. We’re not a utopia, but certainly we want to be the best we can and strive for excellence for our citizens,” he added.
East Peoria was not the only local entity to experience population growth over the past 10 years. Tazewell County also experienced a significant jump in its population.
The population in Tazewell County rose 5.4 percent over the last decade, from 128,485 residents in 2000 to 135,394 in 2010.
