Recently released 2010 census information regarding the city of Champaign shows a boom in population with relatively little change in demographic makeup.

For the first time in Illinois history, the U.S. Census Bureau is providing detailed census information that is specific to each Illinois county, as well as many larger Illinois cities, including Champaign.

Statistics confirm a 20 percent increase in the population of the city since 2000, with the 2010 Census measuring a population of 81,055 for Champaign.

“I would say, number one I was surprised we were over 80,000,” said Lacey Rains, census specialist and Champaign City Planner.

After a special census was ratified in 2007 to measure growth in new areas, city planners had estimated a large growth in population, but nothing as big as the recently released statistic.

“A certain amount of the growth had to have come from the established areas (of the city),” Rains said.

As the city of Champaign continues to grow at an increasing rate, Champaign County’s growth rate has gone beyond the estimates of city planners as well.

While the county has seen a growth rate of 3 to 4 percent in the past several decades, the 2010 Census information shows that the rate is now closer to 12 percent.

“The extreme increase is the most interesting (thing about the new data),” said Andrew Levy, census specialist and Champaign city planner. “This is the first glimpse we’ve had in 10 years.”

Though the population growth in the city of Champaign is a new prospect, Xavier Johnson, freshman in FAA majoring in Urban and Regional Planning, said he believes there are also potential problems with the growth.

“There is the issue of having enough housing available with the bad economy,” he said.

Though Johnson worries about available resources for the increased numbers of people in Champaign, he said there are more positives than negatives.

“It’s good for social capital. We’ll have more people participating in things in the city, and it could affect the redevelopment of downtown Champaign,” he said.

According to housing data, 93.5 percent of Champaign’s housing is occupied and 6.5 percent remains unoccupied.

Aside from population statistics, the city was also given demographic statistics, showing it is 68.8 percent white, 15.6 percent African-American, 10.6 percent Asian and 6.3 percent Hispanic or Latino.

Despite the decrease in the African-American population in Chicago, the percentage of African-Americans in Champaign has not changed at all since the 2000 census. Both the 2000 Census and 2010 Census show a 15.6 percent African-American population.

The Asian percentage, however, has gone from 6.8 percent to 10.6 percent in a matter of 10 years.