Data / Rankings / Civilian labor force / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force

Chicago, IL had the highest civilian labor force of 103 cities in 2015, at 1.38 million. Harvey, IL had the lowest, at 8,494. The median was 19,377. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,378,433Chicago, IL
Lowest8,494Harvey, IL
Median19,377103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2015

Chicago, IL: 1,378,433 personsChicago, IL1,378,433Aurora, IL: 102,669 personsAurora, IL102,669Naperville, IL: 78,776 personsNaperville, IL78,776Joliet, IL: 75,658 personsJoliet, IL75,658Rockford, IL: 67,654 personsRockford, IL67,654Springfield, IL: 58,852 personsSpringfield, IL58,852Elgin, IL: 57,585 personsElgin, IL57,585Peoria, IL: 54,333 personsPeoria, IL54,333Waukegan, IL: 44,731 personsWaukegan, IL44,731Schaumburg, IL: 44,566 personsSchaumburg, IL44,566Champaign, IL: 44,364 personsChampaign, IL44,364Arlington Heights, IL: 41,486 personsArlington Heights, IL41,486Bloomington, IL: 41,361 personsBloomington, IL41,361Bolingbrook, IL: 40,626 personsBolingbrook, IL40,626Evanston, IL: 39,962 personsEvanston, IL39,962Palatine, IL: 39,902 personsPalatine, IL39,902Cicero, IL: 37,383 personsCicero, IL37,383Decatur, IL: 33,327 personsDecatur, IL33,327Skokie, IL: 33,270 personsSkokie, IL33,270Des Plaines, IL: 33,005 personsDes Plaines, IL33,005Tinley Park, IL: 32,505 personsTinley Park, IL32,505Orland Park, IL: 30,522 personsOrland Park, IL30,522Hoffman Estates, IL: 30,377 personsHoffman Estates, IL30,377Oak Park, IL: 29,919 personsOak Park, IL29,919Mount Prospect, IL: 29,840 personsMount Prospect, IL29,840Wheaton, IL: 29,241 personsWheaton, IL29,241Normal, IL: 29,126 personsNormal, IL29,126Oak Lawn, IL: 29,067 personsOak Lawn, IL29,067Berwyn, IL: 28,072 personsBerwyn, IL28,072Downers Grove, IL: 27,622 personsDowners Grove, IL27,622Lombard, IL: 25,356 personsLombard, IL25,356Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,483 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,483Carol Stream, IL: 24,251 personsCarol Stream, IL24,251Streamwood, IL: 23,902 personsStreamwood, IL23,902Bartlett, IL: 23,601 personsBartlett, IL23,601Elmhurst, IL: 23,501 personsElmhurst, IL23,501Glenview, IL: 23,295 personsGlenview, IL23,295Crystal Lake, IL: 22,845 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,845Wheeling, IL: 22,676 personsWheeling, IL22,676DeKalb, IL: 22,417 personsDeKalb, IL22,417Chicago, IL: 1,378,433 personsChicago, IL1,378,433Aurora, IL: 102,669 personsAurora, IL102,669Naperville, IL: 78,776 personsNaperville, IL78,776Joliet, IL: 75,658 personsJoliet, IL75,658Rockford, IL: 67,654 personsRockford, IL67,654Springfield, IL: 58,852 personsSpringfield, IL58,852Elgin, IL: 57,585 personsElgin, IL57,585Peoria, IL: 54,333 personsPeoria, IL54,333Waukegan, IL: 44,731 personsWaukegan, IL44,731Schaumburg, IL: 44,566 personsSchaumburg, IL44,566Champaign, IL: 44,364 personsChampaign, IL44,364Arlington Heights, IL: 41,486 personsArlington Heights, IL41,486Bloomington, IL: 41,361 personsBloomington, IL41,361Bolingbrook, IL: 40,626 personsBolingbrook, IL40,626Evanston, IL: 39,962 personsEvanston, IL39,962Palatine, IL: 39,902 personsPalatine, IL39,902Cicero, IL: 37,383 personsCicero, IL37,383Decatur, IL: 33,327 personsDecatur, IL33,327Skokie, IL: 33,270 personsSkokie, IL33,270Des Plaines, IL: 33,005 personsDes Plaines, IL33,005Tinley Park, IL: 32,505 personsTinley Park, IL32,505Orland Park, IL: 30,522 personsOrland Park, IL30,522Hoffman Estates, IL: 30,377 personsHoffman Estates, IL30,377Oak Park, IL: 29,919 personsOak Park, IL29,919Mount Prospect, IL: 29,840 personsMount Prospect, IL29,840Wheaton, IL: 29,241 personsWheaton, IL29,241Normal, IL: 29,126 personsNormal, IL29,126Oak Lawn, IL: 29,067 personsOak Lawn, IL29,067Berwyn, IL: 28,072 personsBerwyn, IL28,072Downers Grove, IL: 27,622 personsDowners Grove, IL27,622Lombard, IL: 25,356 personsLombard, IL25,356Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,483 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,483Carol Stream, IL: 24,251 personsCarol Stream, IL24,251Streamwood, IL: 23,902 personsStreamwood, IL23,902Bartlett, IL: 23,601 personsBartlett, IL23,601Elmhurst, IL: 23,501 personsElmhurst, IL23,501Glenview, IL: 23,295 personsGlenview, IL23,295Crystal Lake, IL: 22,845 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,845Wheeling, IL: 22,676 personsWheeling, IL22,676DeKalb, IL: 22,417 personsDeKalb, IL22,417
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2015
persons		Change on 2014
1Chicago, IL1,378,4330%
2Aurora, IL102,669+0.5%
3Naperville, IL78,776+1.2%
4Joliet, IL75,658-0.4%
5Rockford, IL67,654-0%
6Springfield, IL58,852+0.9%
7Elgin, IL57,585+0.9%
8Peoria, IL54,333-1.7%
9Waukegan, IL44,731-0.2%
10Schaumburg, IL44,5660%
11Champaign, IL44,364+1.4%
12Arlington Heights, IL41,486+0.2%
13Bloomington, IL41,361+0.1%
14Bolingbrook, IL40,626+0.2%
15Evanston, IL39,962+0.1%
16Palatine, IL39,902+0.3%
17Cicero, IL37,383-0.8%
18Decatur, IL33,327-0.7%
19Skokie, IL33,270-0.2%
20Des Plaines, IL33,005-0.3%
21Tinley Park, IL32,505-0.1%
22Orland Park, IL30,522+0.1%
23Hoffman Estates, IL30,3770%
24Oak Park, IL29,919+1%
25Mount Prospect, IL29,840-0.1%
26Wheaton, IL29,241+0.6%
27Normal, IL29,126+0.3%
28Oak Lawn, IL29,067-0.4%
29Berwyn, IL28,072-0.7%
30Downers Grove, IL27,622+0.6%
31Lombard, IL25,356+0.1%
32Buffalo Grove, IL24,483+0.4%
33Carol Stream, IL24,251+0.7%
34Streamwood, IL23,902+0.5%
35Bartlett, IL23,6010%
36Elmhurst, IL23,501+1%
37Glenview, IL23,295+2.2%
38Crystal Lake, IL22,845+0.4%
39Wheeling, IL22,676+0.3%
40DeKalb, IL22,417-1.4%
41Plainfield, IL22,258+1.3%
42Belleville, IL22,192-0.6%
43Moline, IL22,142-0.2%
44Urbana, IL21,699+0.2%
45Hanover Park, IL21,026-0.3%
46Woodridge, IL20,279+0.1%
47Romeoville, IL20,142-0.9%
48Park Ridge, IL19,7460%
49Addison, IL19,648-0.2%
50Glendale Heights, IL19,5640%
51Elk Grove Village, IL19,462+0.1%
52Quincy, IL19,377-0.4%
53Carpentersville, IL19,287+0.7%
54Oswego, IL18,567+2.5%
55Rock Island, IL18,527-0.2%
56St. Charles, IL18,457+0.8%
57Mundelein, IL18,103+0.7%
58Algonquin, IL17,191+0.9%
59Gurnee, IL17,170+0.6%
60Calumet City, IL16,699-1.1%
61Northbrook, IL16,439+0.6%
62Lake in the Hills, IL16,347+0.7%
63Pekin, IL15,758-2%
64Oak Forest, IL15,399-0.4%
65Highland Park, IL15,009+0.6%
66Round Lake Beach, IL14,930-0.4%
67Vernon Hills, IL14,911+2.7%
68Lansing, IL14,597-0.5%
69West Chicago, IL14,560+0.2%
70Burbank, IL14,453-0.6%
71Glen Ellyn, IL14,406+2.4%
72New Lenox, IL14,402+1.7%
73McHenry, IL14,206+0.4%
74Niles, IL14,037-0.2%
75Lockport, IL13,941+0.2%
76Batavia, IL13,830+0.7%
77Elmwood Park, IL13,698-0.2%
78O'Fallon, IL13,691+0.6%
79Westmont, IL13,601+0.2%
80Granite City, IL13,331+0.7%
81Chicago Heights, IL13,318-0.8%
82Edwardsville, IL13,190+1.9%
83Woodstock, IL13,138+0.1%
84Homer Glen, IL13,135+0.1%
85Danville, IL13,105-0.3%
86Galesburg, IL12,996-1.7%
87Wilmette, IL12,986+0.4%
88Collinsville, IL12,834-0.1%
89Melrose Park, IL12,155+0.1%
90Carbondale, IL11,927+1.5%
91Morton Grove, IL11,780+0.1%
92Belvidere, IL11,7500%
93Alton, IL11,677-0.4%
94Huntley, IL11,184+1.4%
95Zion, IL11,145-0.2%
96Kankakee, IL11,085-1.3%
97Dolton, IL10,947-1%
98Freeport, IL10,607-3.1%
99Maywood, IL10,422-0.8%
100Park Forest, IL10,418-0.2%
101East St. Louis, IL9,1350%
102North Chicago, IL8,842-3.9%
103Harvey, IL8,494-2.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. 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). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"civilian_labor_force","level":"municipality","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=civilian_labor_force&level=municipality&within=Illinois&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Chicago, IL, with 1.38 million in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Harvey, IL, with 8,494 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, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings