Data / Rankings / Business establishments (QCEW) / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW)

Cook County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 102 counties in 2015, at 152,794. Pope County had the lowest, at 63. The median was 665 and the figure for Illinois was 403,205. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest152,794Cook County
Lowest63Pope County
Median665102 counties
Illinois403,205History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 1,868 countAlexander County: 114 countBond County: 324 countBoone County: 930 countBrown County: 147 countBureau County: 882 countCalhoun County: 113 countCarroll County: 466 countCass County: 314 countChampaign County: 4,360 countChristian County: 797 countClark County: 360 countClay County: 407 countClinton County: 916 countColes County: 1,200 countCook County: 152,794 countCrawford County: 464 countCumberland County: 222 countDeKalb County: 2,210 countDe Witt County: 446 countDouglas County: 652 countDuPage County: 37,870 countEdgar County: 420 countEdwards County: 166 countEffingham County: 1,246 countFayette County: 546 countFord County: 397 countFranklin County: 831 countFulton County: 746 countGallatin County: 155 countGreene County: 292 countGrundy County: 1,252 countHamilton County: 226 countHancock County: 462 countHardin County: 74 countHenderson County: 145 countHenry County: 1,139 countIroquois County: 860 countJackson County: 1,342 countJasper County: 249 countJefferson County: 982 countJersey County: 441 countJo Daviess County: 810 countJohnson County: 209 countKane County: 13,651 countKankakee County: 2,511 countKendall County: 2,329 countKnox County: 1,121 countLake County: 22,329 countLaSalle County: 2,811 countLawrence County: 309 countLee County: 784 countLivingston County: 942 countLogan County: 645 countMcDonough County: 677 countMcHenry County: 8,731 countMcLean County: 3,791 countMacon County: 2,470 countMacoupin County: 1,018 countMadison County: 6,049 countMarion County: 945 countMarshall County: 294 countMason County: 342 countMassac County: 233 countMenard County: 258 countMercer County: 325 countMonroe County: 812 countMontgomery County: 767 countMorgan County: 826 countMoultrie County: 372 countOgle County: 1,159 countPeoria County: 4,644 countPerry County: 402 countPiatt County: 386 countPike County: 489 countPope County: 63 countPulaski County: 121 countPutnam County: 185 countRandolph County: 705 countRichland County: 465 countRock Island County: 3,280 countSt. Clair County: 5,482 countSaline County: 584 countSangamon County: 5,263 countSchuyler County: 175 countScott County: 108 countShelby County: 488 countStark County: 146 countStephenson County: 1,160 countTazewell County: 2,826 countUnion County: 377 countVermilion County: 1,569 countWabash County: 314 countWarren County: 411 countWashington County: 430 countWayne County: 431 countWhite County: 408 countWhiteside County: 1,326 countWill County: 15,946 countWilliamson County: 1,543 countWinnebago County: 6,765 countWoodford County: 830 count
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 and over
count, 2015. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Cook County: 152,794 countCook County152,794DuPage County: 37,870 countDuPage County37,870Lake County: 22,329 countLake County22,329Will County: 15,946 countWill County15,946Kane County: 13,651 countKane County13,651McHenry County: 8,731 countMcHenry County8,731Winnebago County: 6,765 countWinnebago County6,765Madison County: 6,049 countMadison County6,049St. Clair County: 5,482 countSt. Clair County5,482Sangamon County: 5,263 countSangamon County5,263Peoria County: 4,644 countPeoria County4,644Champaign County: 4,360 countChampaign County4,360McLean County: 3,791 countMcLean County3,791Rock Island County: 3,280 countRock Island County3,280Tazewell County: 2,826 countTazewell County2,826LaSalle County: 2,811 countLaSalle County2,811Kankakee County: 2,511 countKankakee County2,511Macon County: 2,470 countMacon County2,470Kendall County: 2,329 countKendall County2,329DeKalb County: 2,210 countDeKalb County2,210Adams County: 1,868 countAdams County1,868Vermilion County: 1,569 countVermilion County1,569Williamson County: 1,543 countWilliamson County1,543Jackson County: 1,342 countJackson County1,342Whiteside County: 1,326 countWhiteside County1,326Grundy County: 1,252 countGrundy County1,252Effingham County: 1,246 countEffingham County1,246Coles County: 1,200 countColes County1,200Stephenson County: 1,160 countStephenson County1,160Ogle County: 1,159 countOgle County1,159Henry County: 1,139 countHenry County1,139Knox County: 1,121 countKnox County1,121Macoupin County: 1,018 countMacoupin County1,018Jefferson County: 982 countJefferson County982Marion County: 945 countMarion County945Livingston County: 942 countLivingston County942Boone County: 930 countBoone County930Clinton County: 916 countClinton County916Bureau County: 882 countBureau County882Iroquois County: 860 countIroquois County860Cook County: 152,794 countCook County152,794DuPage County: 37,870 countDuPage County37,870Lake County: 22,329 countLake County22,329Will County: 15,946 countWill County15,946Kane County: 13,651 countKane County13,651McHenry County: 8,731 countMcHenry County8,731Winnebago County: 6,765 countWinnebago County6,765Madison County: 6,049 countMadison County6,049St. Clair County: 5,482 countSt. Clair County5,482Sangamon County: 5,263 countSangamon County5,263Peoria County: 4,644 countPeoria County4,644Champaign County: 4,360 countChampaign County4,360McLean County: 3,791 countMcLean County3,791Rock Island County: 3,280 countRock Island County3,280Tazewell County: 2,826 countTazewell County2,826LaSalle County: 2,811 countLaSalle County2,811Kankakee County: 2,511 countKankakee County2,511Macon County: 2,470 countMacon County2,470Kendall County: 2,329 countKendall County2,329DeKalb County: 2,210 countDeKalb County2,210Adams County: 1,868 countAdams County1,868Vermilion County: 1,569 countVermilion County1,569Williamson County: 1,543 countWilliamson County1,543Jackson County: 1,342 countJackson County1,342Whiteside County: 1,326 countWhiteside County1,326Grundy County: 1,252 countGrundy County1,252Effingham County: 1,246 countEffingham County1,246Coles County: 1,200 countColes County1,200Stephenson County: 1,160 countStephenson County1,160Ogle County: 1,159 countOgle County1,159Henry County: 1,139 countHenry County1,139Knox County: 1,121 countKnox County1,121Macoupin County: 1,018 countMacoupin County1,018Jefferson County: 982 countJefferson County982Marion County: 945 countMarion County945Livingston County: 942 countLivingston County942Boone County: 930 countBoone County930Clinton County: 916 countClinton County916Bureau County: 882 countBureau County882Iroquois County: 860 countIroquois County860
count. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
count		Change on 2014
1Cook County152,794-3.1%
2DuPage County37,870-2.7%
3Lake County22,329-3.6%
4Will County15,946-2.1%
5Kane County13,651-2.5%
6McHenry County8,731-3.4%
7Winnebago County6,765-2.6%
8Madison County6,049-2.5%
9St. Clair County5,482-3.9%
10Sangamon County5,263-3.1%
11Peoria County4,644-3.4%
12Champaign County4,360-2.4%
13McLean County3,791-3.6%
14Rock Island County3,280-5.4%
15Tazewell County2,826-2%
16LaSalle County2,811-3.3%
17Kankakee County2,511-3.5%
18Macon County2,470-1.5%
19Kendall County2,329-1.9%
20DeKalb County2,210-0.8%
21Adams County1,868-2.8%
22Vermilion County1,569-4.1%
23Williamson County1,543-4.3%
24Jackson County1,342-3.5%
25Whiteside County1,326-3%
26Grundy County1,252-1.5%
27Effingham County1,246-1.3%
28Coles County1,200-3.5%
29Stephenson County1,160-2.4%
30Ogle County1,159-4.4%
31Henry County1,139-1.6%
32Knox County1,121-5.7%
33Macoupin County1,018-4.1%
34Jefferson County982-3.4%
35Marion County945-3.4%
36Livingston County942-0.4%
37Boone County930-5%
38Clinton County916-1.8%
39Bureau County882-4.5%
40Iroquois County860-1.9%
41Franklin County831-4.5%
42Woodford County830-2.6%
43Morgan County826-5.2%
44Monroe County812-3%
45Jo Daviess County810-1.7%
46Christian County797-4%
47Lee County784-1.6%
48Montgomery County767-1.5%
49Fulton County746-3.9%
50Randolph County705-3.4%
51McDonough County677-2.6%
52Douglas County652-2%
53Logan County645-3.7%
54Saline County584-4.6%
55Fayette County546-2.5%
56Pike County489-1.6%
57Shelby County488-5.2%
58Carroll County466-4.7%
59Richland County465-1.3%
60Crawford County464-4.1%
61Hancock County462-2.7%
62De Witt County446-1.5%
63Jersey County441-4.1%
64Wayne County431-2.7%
65Washington County430-2.3%
66Edgar County420-3.4%
67Warren County411-0.5%
68White County408-2.6%
69Clay County407+0.5%
70Perry County402-2.9%
71Ford County397-4.8%
72Piatt County386-1.3%
73Union County377-3.6%
74Moultrie County372-3.4%
75Clark County360-4%
76Mason County342-3.4%
77Mercer County325-1.5%
78Bond County324-6.4%
79Cass County314-7.6%
79Wabash County314-0.3%
81Lawrence County309-2.2%
82Marshall County294-1.7%
83Greene County292-4.3%
84Menard County258-4.4%
85Jasper County249-2%
86Massac County233-3.7%
87Hamilton County226-3%
88Cumberland County222+2.3%
89Johnson County209+0.5%
90Putnam County185-0.5%
91Schuyler County175-0.6%
92Edwards County1660%
93Gallatin County155+0.6%
94Brown County147-2.6%
95Stark County146-6.4%
96Henderson County145-2%
97Pulaski County121-7.6%
98Alexander County114-9.5%
99Calhoun County113-5%
100Scott County108-3.6%
101Hardin County740%
102Pope County630%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of establishments with jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An establishment is a single place of business, such as a factory, store or office; a company with several locations has several.

Counts places of business, not firms: for firms use employer_firms. Changes in how large employers report their locations can move the count without any change in activity.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_illinois_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Cook County, with 152,794 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Pope County, with 63 in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings