1. Start with the geography your firm actually serves
Wood Dale and DuPage County are not interchangeable audiences, and neither is automatically the same as the Chicago metropolitan area or all of Illinois. A news page about an Illinois law change may be relevant statewide, while a page about an incident may require more careful wording about the specific municipality, county or roadway. The population record identifies Wood Dale as a municipality in DuPage County; it does not establish where prospective clients search or where your firm accepts matters.
Recommended approach
Before approving coverage, define the geographic scope for each practice area. Review whether a story should be framed for Wood Dale residents, DuPage County readers, Illinois readers or another service area your firm has expressly chosen. Do not use the Wood Dale population estimate to justify a demand claim. Use it only as context when deciding whether Wood Dale belongs in the service-area review.
