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 2019, at 1.43 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 7,171. The median was 19,032. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,431,355Chicago, IL
Lowest7,171East St. Louis, IL
Median19,032103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2019

Chicago, IL: 1,431,355 personsChicago, IL1,431,355Aurora, IL: 98,439 personsAurora, IL98,439Joliet, IL: 77,956 personsJoliet, IL77,956Naperville, IL: 77,388 personsNaperville, IL77,388Rockford, IL: 70,107 personsRockford, IL70,107Elgin, IL: 60,702 personsElgin, IL60,702Springfield, IL: 54,838 personsSpringfield, IL54,838Peoria, IL: 53,407 personsPeoria, IL53,407Waukegan, IL: 48,313 personsWaukegan, IL48,313Champaign, IL: 45,483 personsChampaign, IL45,483Bloomington, IL: 42,011 personsBloomington, IL42,011Schaumburg, IL: 41,835 personsSchaumburg, IL41,835Cicero, IL: 41,385 personsCicero, IL41,385Bolingbrook, IL: 40,869 personsBolingbrook, IL40,869Arlington Heights, IL: 40,519 personsArlington Heights, IL40,519Evanston, IL: 39,339 personsEvanston, IL39,339Palatine, IL: 38,128 personsPalatine, IL38,128Skokie, IL: 32,515 personsSkokie, IL32,515Decatur, IL: 31,989 personsDecatur, IL31,989Des Plaines, IL: 31,922 personsDes Plaines, IL31,922Berwyn, IL: 30,276 personsBerwyn, IL30,276Mount Prospect, IL: 29,935 personsMount Prospect, IL29,935Oak Park, IL: 29,233 personsOak Park, IL29,233Tinley Park, IL: 29,128 personsTinley Park, IL29,128Orland Park, IL: 28,885 personsOrland Park, IL28,885Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,611 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,611Oak Lawn, IL: 28,266 personsOak Lawn, IL28,266Normal, IL: 28,201 personsNormal, IL28,201Wheaton, IL: 27,490 personsWheaton, IL27,490Downers Grove, IL: 26,613 personsDowners Grove, IL26,613Lombard, IL: 25,042 personsLombard, IL25,042Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,142 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,142Bartlett, IL: 23,634 personsBartlett, IL23,634Glenview, IL: 23,500 personsGlenview, IL23,500Plainfield, IL: 23,381 personsPlainfield, IL23,381Romeoville, IL: 23,131 personsRomeoville, IL23,131Elmhurst, IL: 22,817 personsElmhurst, IL22,817Wheeling, IL: 22,091 personsWheeling, IL22,091Carol Stream, IL: 22,068 personsCarol Stream, IL22,068Crystal Lake, IL: 21,921 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,921Chicago, IL: 1,431,355 personsChicago, IL1,431,355Aurora, IL: 98,439 personsAurora, IL98,439Joliet, IL: 77,956 personsJoliet, IL77,956Naperville, IL: 77,388 personsNaperville, IL77,388Rockford, IL: 70,107 personsRockford, IL70,107Elgin, IL: 60,702 personsElgin, IL60,702Springfield, IL: 54,838 personsSpringfield, IL54,838Peoria, IL: 53,407 personsPeoria, IL53,407Waukegan, IL: 48,313 personsWaukegan, IL48,313Champaign, IL: 45,483 personsChampaign, IL45,483Bloomington, IL: 42,011 personsBloomington, IL42,011Schaumburg, IL: 41,835 personsSchaumburg, IL41,835Cicero, IL: 41,385 personsCicero, IL41,385Bolingbrook, IL: 40,869 personsBolingbrook, IL40,869Arlington Heights, IL: 40,519 personsArlington Heights, IL40,519Evanston, IL: 39,339 personsEvanston, IL39,339Palatine, IL: 38,128 personsPalatine, IL38,128Skokie, IL: 32,515 personsSkokie, IL32,515Decatur, IL: 31,989 personsDecatur, IL31,989Des Plaines, IL: 31,922 personsDes Plaines, IL31,922Berwyn, IL: 30,276 personsBerwyn, IL30,276Mount Prospect, IL: 29,935 personsMount Prospect, IL29,935Oak Park, IL: 29,233 personsOak Park, IL29,233Tinley Park, IL: 29,128 personsTinley Park, IL29,128Orland Park, IL: 28,885 personsOrland Park, IL28,885Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,611 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,611Oak Lawn, IL: 28,266 personsOak Lawn, IL28,266Normal, IL: 28,201 personsNormal, IL28,201Wheaton, IL: 27,490 personsWheaton, IL27,490Downers Grove, IL: 26,613 personsDowners Grove, IL26,613Lombard, IL: 25,042 personsLombard, IL25,042Buffalo Grove, IL: 24,142 personsBuffalo Grove, IL24,142Bartlett, IL: 23,634 personsBartlett, IL23,634Glenview, IL: 23,500 personsGlenview, IL23,500Plainfield, IL: 23,381 personsPlainfield, IL23,381Romeoville, IL: 23,131 personsRomeoville, IL23,131Elmhurst, IL: 22,817 personsElmhurst, IL22,817Wheeling, IL: 22,091 personsWheeling, IL22,091Carol Stream, IL: 22,068 personsCarol Stream, IL22,068Crystal Lake, IL: 21,921 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,921
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

RankCities2019
persons		Change on 2018
1Chicago, IL1,431,355+0.3%
2Aurora, IL98,439-0.9%
3Joliet, IL77,956+0.1%
4Naperville, IL77,388+0.8%
5Rockford, IL70,107-1.4%
6Elgin, IL60,702-0.7%
7Springfield, IL54,838-1.6%
8Peoria, IL53,407-1.4%
9Waukegan, IL48,313+0.1%
10Champaign, IL45,483+1.9%
11Bloomington, IL42,011-1%
12Schaumburg, IL41,8350%
13Cicero, IL41,385-0.2%
14Bolingbrook, IL40,869-0.2%
15Arlington Heights, IL40,5190%
16Evanston, IL39,339-0.1%
17Palatine, IL38,128-0.1%
18Skokie, IL32,515-0.2%
19Decatur, IL31,989-2.4%
20Des Plaines, IL31,922+0.7%
21Berwyn, IL30,276-0.1%
22Mount Prospect, IL29,935-0.1%
23Oak Park, IL29,233+1%
24Tinley Park, IL29,128+0.1%
25Orland Park, IL28,885+0.1%
26Hoffman Estates, IL28,611+0.4%
27Oak Lawn, IL28,266-0.2%
28Normal, IL28,201-0.7%
29Wheaton, IL27,490-0.1%
30Downers Grove, IL26,6130%
31Lombard, IL25,042-0.1%
32Buffalo Grove, IL24,142-0.1%
33Bartlett, IL23,6340%
34Glenview, IL23,500+0.9%
35Plainfield, IL23,381+1%
36Romeoville, IL23,131+0.9%
37Elmhurst, IL22,817+1.1%
38Wheeling, IL22,091+0.1%
39Carol Stream, IL22,068-0.2%
40Crystal Lake, IL21,921+0.1%
41Streamwood, IL21,908-0.3%
42Moline, IL21,681-0.2%
43Belleville, IL21,564-0.8%
44DeKalb, IL21,203-0.2%
45Carpentersville, IL21,133-1.5%
46Urbana, IL20,803+0.3%
47Quincy, IL20,566-1.8%
48Park Ridge, IL20,141+0.1%
49Addison, IL20,108-0.1%
50Hanover Park, IL19,206-0.3%
51Woodridge, IL19,175+0.2%
52St. Charles, IL19,032-0.4%
53Oswego, IL18,892+2.9%
54Glendale Heights, IL18,668-0.3%
55Mundelein, IL18,239+0.3%
56Rock Island, IL18,159-0.7%
57Gurnee, IL17,6840%
58Elk Grove Village, IL17,479-0.1%
59Algonquin, IL17,477+0.4%
60Northbrook, IL17,014+0.3%
61Calumet City, IL16,964+0.1%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,871+0.2%
63O'Fallon, IL15,671+0.4%
64Highland Park, IL15,392+0.4%
65Round Lake Beach, IL15,278-0%
66McHenry, IL15,181+0.6%
67Pekin, IL15,107-1.5%
68Oak Forest, IL14,987-0%
69Vernon Hills, IL14,896+0.5%
70Lockport, IL14,700+1.2%
71Batavia, IL14,677-0.2%
72Niles, IL14,298-0.1%
73Lansing, IL14,279-0.3%
74New Lenox, IL14,135+1.2%
75Woodstock, IL14,113+0.3%
76Burbank, IL14,111-0%
77Glen Ellyn, IL13,965-0.1%
78Belvidere, IL13,866-1.3%
79West Chicago, IL13,660-0.3%
80Collinsville, IL13,607-0.2%
81Edwardsville, IL13,559+1.5%
82Granite City, IL13,257-0.5%
83Zion, IL13,048-0.1%
84Alton, IL12,562-0.6%
85Melrose Park, IL12,521-0.1%
86Morton Grove, IL12,456+0.3%
87Wilmette, IL12,432+0.1%
88Westmont, IL12,421-0.3%
89Elmwood Park, IL12,339+0.2%
90Galesburg, IL12,311-2.1%
91Homer Glen, IL11,817+0.1%
92Huntley, IL11,700-0.1%
93Chicago Heights, IL11,559-0.2%
94Danville, IL11,417-2%
95Freeport, IL11,200-1.9%
96Kankakee, IL10,852+0.5%
97Park Forest, IL10,456-0.6%
98North Chicago, IL10,3870%
99Carbondale, IL10,321-0.2%
100Maywood, IL9,877-0.4%
101Dolton, IL9,328-0.7%
102Harvey, IL8,678-0.6%
103East St. Louis, IL7,171-2.2%

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 2019 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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2019.
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 1.43 million in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 7,171 in 2019.

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 2019 and are not ranked.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings