Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW)
Cook County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 102 counties in 2020, at 138,637. Pope County had the lowest, at 47. The median was 580 and the figure for Illinois was 376,773. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Map of counties, 2020
- Under 1,000
- 1,000 to 2,000
- 2,000 and over
Top 40 counties, 2020
Full ranking
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/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020.
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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_illinois_by_2020,
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), 2020}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/21
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in Illinois by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=Illinois&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?
Cook County, with 138,637 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?
Pope County, with 47 in 2020.
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
- Business revenue: health care and social assistance (Economic Census)
- Business revenue: information (Economic Census)
- Business revenue: other services (Economic Census)
- Business revenue: finance and insurance (Economic Census)
- Mean travel time to work
- Unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate)
- Unemployment rate
- Labor force participation rate (US five-year survey estimate)