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 2017, at 1.44 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 7,360. The median was 18,900. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,435,299Chicago, IL
Lowest7,360East St. Louis, IL
Median18,900103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2017

Chicago, IL: 1,435,299 personsChicago, IL1,435,299Aurora, IL: 99,225 personsAurora, IL99,225Joliet, IL: 78,152 personsJoliet, IL78,152Naperville, IL: 76,671 personsNaperville, IL76,671Rockford, IL: 69,969 personsRockford, IL69,969Elgin, IL: 60,841 personsElgin, IL60,841Springfield, IL: 55,996 personsSpringfield, IL55,996Peoria, IL: 53,917 personsPeoria, IL53,917Waukegan, IL: 47,867 personsWaukegan, IL47,867Champaign, IL: 44,013 personsChampaign, IL44,013Bloomington, IL: 42,763 personsBloomington, IL42,763Schaumburg, IL: 42,114 personsSchaumburg, IL42,114Cicero, IL: 41,937 personsCicero, IL41,937Bolingbrook, IL: 41,070 personsBolingbrook, IL41,070Arlington Heights, IL: 40,623 personsArlington Heights, IL40,623Evanston, IL: 39,637 personsEvanston, IL39,637Palatine, IL: 38,441 personsPalatine, IL38,441Skokie, IL: 32,866 personsSkokie, IL32,866Decatur, IL: 32,581 personsDecatur, IL32,581Des Plaines, IL: 31,286 personsDes Plaines, IL31,286Berwyn, IL: 30,630 personsBerwyn, IL30,630Mount Prospect, IL: 30,183 personsMount Prospect, IL30,183Tinley Park, IL: 29,394 personsTinley Park, IL29,394Orland Park, IL: 29,053 personsOrland Park, IL29,053Oak Park, IL: 28,917 personsOak Park, IL28,917Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,684 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,684Oak Lawn, IL: 28,618 personsOak Lawn, IL28,618Normal, IL: 28,397 personsNormal, IL28,397Wheaton, IL: 27,683 personsWheaton, IL27,683Downers Grove, IL: 26,761 personsDowners Grove, IL26,761Lombard, IL: 24,673 personsLombard, IL24,673Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,078 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,078Bartlett, IL: 23,781 personsBartlett, IL23,781Glenview, IL: 23,413 personsGlenview, IL23,413Plainfield, IL: 23,013 personsPlainfield, IL23,013Romeoville, IL: 22,989 personsRomeoville, IL22,989Elmhurst, IL: 22,659 personsElmhurst, IL22,659Carol Stream, IL: 22,335 personsCarol Stream, IL22,335Streamwood, IL: 22,184 personsStreamwood, IL22,184Crystal Lake, IL: 21,978 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,978Chicago, IL: 1,435,299 personsChicago, IL1,435,299Aurora, IL: 99,225 personsAurora, IL99,225Joliet, IL: 78,152 personsJoliet, IL78,152Naperville, IL: 76,671 personsNaperville, IL76,671Rockford, IL: 69,969 personsRockford, IL69,969Elgin, IL: 60,841 personsElgin, IL60,841Springfield, IL: 55,996 personsSpringfield, IL55,996Peoria, IL: 53,917 personsPeoria, IL53,917Waukegan, IL: 47,867 personsWaukegan, IL47,867Champaign, IL: 44,013 personsChampaign, IL44,013Bloomington, IL: 42,763 personsBloomington, IL42,763Schaumburg, IL: 42,114 personsSchaumburg, IL42,114Cicero, IL: 41,937 personsCicero, IL41,937Bolingbrook, IL: 41,070 personsBolingbrook, IL41,070Arlington Heights, IL: 40,623 personsArlington Heights, IL40,623Evanston, IL: 39,637 personsEvanston, IL39,637Palatine, IL: 38,441 personsPalatine, IL38,441Skokie, IL: 32,866 personsSkokie, IL32,866Decatur, IL: 32,581 personsDecatur, IL32,581Des Plaines, IL: 31,286 personsDes Plaines, IL31,286Berwyn, IL: 30,630 personsBerwyn, IL30,630Mount Prospect, IL: 30,183 personsMount Prospect, IL30,183Tinley Park, IL: 29,394 personsTinley Park, IL29,394Orland Park, IL: 29,053 personsOrland Park, IL29,053Oak Park, IL: 28,917 personsOak Park, IL28,917Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,684 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,684Oak Lawn, IL: 28,618 personsOak Lawn, IL28,618Normal, IL: 28,397 personsNormal, IL28,397Wheaton, IL: 27,683 personsWheaton, IL27,683Downers Grove, IL: 26,761 personsDowners Grove, IL26,761Lombard, IL: 24,673 personsLombard, IL24,673Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,078 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,078Bartlett, IL: 23,781 personsBartlett, IL23,781Glenview, IL: 23,413 personsGlenview, IL23,413Plainfield, IL: 23,013 personsPlainfield, IL23,013Romeoville, IL: 22,989 personsRomeoville, IL22,989Elmhurst, IL: 22,659 personsElmhurst, IL22,659Carol Stream, IL: 22,335 personsCarol Stream, IL22,335Streamwood, IL: 22,184 personsStreamwood, IL22,184Crystal Lake, IL: 21,978 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,978
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

RankCities2017
persons		Change on 2016
1Chicago, IL1,435,299-0.8%
2Aurora, IL99,225-0.8%
3Joliet, IL78,152-0.9%
4Naperville, IL76,671-0.1%
5Rockford, IL69,969-1.6%
6Elgin, IL60,841-0.9%
7Springfield, IL55,996-2.3%
8Peoria, IL53,917-2.3%
9Waukegan, IL47,867-0.6%
10Champaign, IL44,013-0.1%
11Bloomington, IL42,763-1.4%
12Schaumburg, IL42,114-1.1%
13Cicero, IL41,937-1.4%
14Bolingbrook, IL41,070+0.3%
15Arlington Heights, IL40,623-0.8%
16Evanston, IL39,637-1.2%
17Palatine, IL38,441-1%
18Skokie, IL32,866-1.2%
19Decatur, IL32,581-1.9%
20Des Plaines, IL31,286-1.1%
21Berwyn, IL30,630-1.5%
22Mount Prospect, IL30,183-1.3%
23Tinley Park, IL29,394-1%
24Orland Park, IL29,053-0.9%
25Oak Park, IL28,917-0.1%
26Hoffman Estates, IL28,684-1.1%
27Oak Lawn, IL28,618-1.3%
28Normal, IL28,397-1.1%
29Wheaton, IL27,683-0.6%
30Downers Grove, IL26,761-0.4%
31Lombard, IL24,673-0.7%
32Buffalo Grove, IL24,078-0.5%
33Bartlett, IL23,781-0.8%
34Glenview, IL23,413-0.6%
35Plainfield, IL23,013+1.4%
36Romeoville, IL22,989-0.8%
37Elmhurst, IL22,659-0.3%
38Carol Stream, IL22,335-0.7%
39Streamwood, IL22,184-1.2%
40Crystal Lake, IL21,978-0.7%
41Wheeling, IL21,814-0.4%
42Belleville, IL21,781-1%
43Moline, IL21,596-1.6%
44Carpentersville, IL21,308-1.3%
45DeKalb, IL21,140-0.9%
46Urbana, IL20,660-1.4%
47Quincy, IL20,613-0.2%
48Addison, IL20,297-0.6%
49Park Ridge, IL20,216-1.1%
50Hanover Park, IL19,471-1.2%
51Woodridge, IL19,200-0.3%
52Glendale Heights, IL18,900-1%
53St. Charles, IL18,670-0.8%
54Rock Island, IL18,197-1.9%
55Mundelein, IL17,954-0.1%
56Oswego, IL17,871+0.8%
57Elk Grove Village, IL17,675-1.3%
58Gurnee, IL17,474-0.3%
59Algonquin, IL17,390-0.5%
60Calumet City, IL17,271-1.5%
61Northbrook, IL17,048-0.9%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,883-0.4%
63O'Fallon, IL15,376+0.2%
64Pekin, IL15,342-1.8%
65Oak Forest, IL15,173-1.1%
66Highland Park, IL15,136+0.2%
67Round Lake Beach, IL15,130-0.5%
68McHenry, IL14,982+0.1%
69Batavia, IL14,603-0.4%
70Lansing, IL14,471-1.2%
71Lockport, IL14,4630%
72Niles, IL14,432-1.2%
73Vernon Hills, IL14,344-0.3%
74Burbank, IL14,250-1.2%
75Woodstock, IL14,102-0.2%
76Glen Ellyn, IL14,050-0.7%
77Belvidere, IL13,886-0.4%
78New Lenox, IL13,826+0.7%
79West Chicago, IL13,808-1%
80Collinsville, IL13,659-0.1%
81Granite City, IL13,363-2.4%
82Edwardsville, IL13,309-0.6%
83Zion, IL12,950-0.6%
84Galesburg, IL12,749-4.7%
85Alton, IL12,673-1%
86Melrose Park, IL12,657-1.3%
87Westmont, IL12,519-0.7%
88Morton Grove, IL12,505-1.1%
89Wilmette, IL12,447-0.4%
90Elmwood Park, IL12,440-1.4%
91Danville, IL11,864-2.8%
92Chicago Heights, IL11,851-1.7%
93Homer Glen, IL11,842-0.3%
94Huntley, IL11,558+1.5%
95Freeport, IL11,124+1.3%
96Park Forest, IL10,673-1.4%
97Kankakee, IL10,648-0.7%
98Carbondale, IL10,386-3.4%
99North Chicago, IL10,229+0.2%
100Maywood, IL10,102-1.7%
101Dolton, IL9,595-1.5%
102Harvey, IL8,899-2.1%
103East St. Louis, IL7,360-2.7%

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 2017 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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2017.
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  -
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Rank Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Chicago, IL, with 1.44 million in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 7,360 in 2017.

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 2017 and are not ranked.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings