More Elbow Room

Renewing the American tradition of seeking more "elbow room", there is an increasing exodus of people from American cities to the suburbs and new "exurbs". AP:

Most of America's fastest-growing counties are well outside urban areas as more people move to the suburbs and beyond.

New Census Bureau estimates show the nation's population shifting south and west, to the distant suburbs of metropolitan areas stretching from Florida to Utah.

Some people are chasing jobs and, in other cases, the jobs are chasing them, said Alan Pisarski, author of "Commuting in America."

"As the jobs move farther out, frequently driven there by the need to access skilled people, that frees up more people to move even farther out," Pisarski said.

This trend is corroborated by a UNH study:

Rural America has been adding population for about 30 years, after losing residents for much of the first half of the 20th Century, according to a study released Wednesday by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. Much of those gains have been on the "fringes of metropolitan areas," the study said.

And the effect here in Chicago? The Tribune reports:

Cook County lost more people between 2000 and 2005 than any county in the nation, according to Census Bureau estimates released Thursday that also show continued gains in suburban and exurban counties across the region and portions of the nation....

The notion of fewer residents runs counter to the perception of growth fueled by condominium towers sprouting across Chicago's skyline. Still, demographers say they are often inhabited by singles, couples and empty nesters--smaller households than the families moving out.

Kendall County, by percentage increase, and Will County, by numeric gain, are among the fastest growing in the nation. Will County is "the only county outside the nation's rapidly growing South and West to make the top 20."
And it's not just the city that is affected, it's the near suburbs:

"Chicago is not just losing population, but it's also suburban Cook," said Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at Loyola University Chicago.

After helping Cook County grow in the 1990s, Hispanics are now increasingly moving to the suburbs for jobs and more affordable housing, Johnson said.

Housing and people follow the jobs. And better schools attract employers. No wonder Chicago is losing out.