Chicago's black population fell by about 11% between 2000 and 2009

According to the 2009 census estimates, whites and blacks each represent almost one-third of the city’s population, while Hispanics have held steady at about 27% and Asians rose slightly to comprise a little more than 5% of Chicagoans. Although demographers caution against drawing firm conclusions until the final 2010 census data is reported, it appears that whites could be the biggest racial group in the city for the first time since the 1980 census. A Brookings Institute study released in May 2010 highlighted a broad migration of blacks toward the South, noting that the Atlanta area recently surpassed Chicago as the second-largest black community in the country, after New York. “This is part of a continued shift of blacks to the South that we are seeing nationally,” said William Frey, a Brookings Institute demographer.