Savoy, Mahomet and St. Joseph were the fastest-growing communities in Champaign County percentage-wise over the past 10 years, according to the Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, Champaign has moved from the 15th most populous city in Illinois to 11th, and Champaign County is now among the state's top 10 counties in terms of population.

The Census Bureau rolled out detailed statewide 2010 census data for Illinois on Tuesday afternoon.

The counts help determine how the financial pie is sliced for cities and villages, since some funding – such as motor fuel taxes, income taxes and use taxes (a sales tax paid on purchases of items such as automobiles used in Illinois) – is doled out on a per capita basis.

Savoy saw the largest percentage growth over the last decade, increasing its population by 63 percent to 7,280.

"We've been waiting a long time for those numbers, and this is good news for us," said Savoy Village Manager Dick Helton.

Helton said Savoy added 2,000 new building lots and between 500 and 600 new homes over the past six years.

"We have lower property taxes than some communities, and we have a low crime rate here," Helton said.

Helton said the village plans to use additional motor fuel tax money to pay for storm sewer work and street overlays in the older part of town.

Additional income will be used to borrow money to rebuild Savoy's portion of Prospect Avenue, to build a new public works facility and to pay for a new firetruck and other equipment.

Helton added the larger population also means larger demands for services. He said Savoy increased its payments for police protection with the sheriff's office from $100,000 to $350,000 a year, and he anticipates that cost may go up in future years.

The Census Bureau reported that Mahomet's population jumped by 49 percent, to 7,258 people.

"We were hoping to reach the 7,000 figure, so learning the new number is a pleasant surprise," said Mahomet Village Administrator Mell Smigielski.

Smigielski said Mahomet gained 61 new single-family homes in 2008, 51 in 2009 and 35 in 2010.

"The school district is a good pull for us, and people like to live away from the bigger cities," he said. "We have a slower pace here, which is attractive to people. Our residents get to enjoy the amenities of Champaign-Urbana and the university without having to deal with the traffic issues."

Since Mahomet has topped the 5,000 mark, Smigielski said, the village will need to start a police pension fund. Communities with police departments and populations under 5,000 aren't required to do so, he said.

"It is too early to guess how much it will cost, but this is something we would want to fund," he said.

Smigielski said the village will also use the increased money to hire additional employees and repair streets.

"Every department is understaffed," he said.

St. Joseph's population increased 36 percent over the last decade, to 3,967 people.

St. Joseph Mayor B. J. Hackler said people move there because of its school system, its central location between Champaign-Urbana and Danville and low crime rate.

Hackler said the village will use its extra income to pay for snow removal, cutting down trees, work on roads and sidewalks, oil and chip work, ditch work and drainage.

"Adding more than 1,000 people gives us the income to make a difference in paying for those projects," Hackler said. "We never seem to have enough money for a growing community."

Meanwhile, the Census Bureau reported Champaign County's biggest losses percentage-wise in population were in Thomasboro, Ivesdale and Bondville.

Thomasboro saw a 9 percent decrease in its population, losing 107 people since 2000.

Thomasboro Mayor Tony Grilo attributed the decrease to the economy.

"We have a number of empty houses, and foreclosures hit the area pretty hard," Grilo said. "The bulk of the decline is due to the economy."

Grilo said the village will need to adjust its budget to make up for an anticipated loss of per capita income.

"Our motor fuel money has already dropped off considerably. We will have to sit down and evaluate everything in the budget more closely. We will have to be a little tighter with everything.

"I don't know if there is a whole lot we can do to motivate people to move to Thomasboro. But as the economy turns around, we will bounce back."

Bondville Mayor Dale Munds said he was disappointed to learn his village decreased by 12 people since 2000.

"This is an older town, and we've had quite a few people pass away," Munds said.

Munds said the village's new sanitary sewer system could attract people to move to Bondville.

"I would anticipate further growth in the community," he said.

According to the Census Bureau, Champaign passed Decatur, Arlington Heights, Evanston and Schaumburg to become the 11th largest incorporated community in Illinois, with 81,055 people.

Champaign Assistant City Manager Dorothy David said the city's gain of more than 13,500 people can be attributed to a combination of new subdivisions on the edge of town as well as growth within the central parts of the city.

"We've seen nice growth in residential subdivisions, but we've seen healthy infill growth as well," David said. "We're seeing people moving back to the core of the city."

David said the city will need its extra per capita income to pay for services required by a larger population.

Champaign County as a whole topped the 200,000 mark, passing both Sangamon and Peoria counties to become the 10th largest county in the state, with 201,081 people.

"I've asked one of the assistant state's attorneys to find out whether having more than 200,000 people will affect us," said Champaign County Board Chairman Pius Weibel.

"Some laws are population-dependent. We just don't know if any of them affect us.

"Gaining population is better than losing people. There is a desire to live here over other places, and everybody has their own reason for coming here."

Here are Champaign County totals: