Data / Rankings / Civilian labor force / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by civilian labor force

Chicago, IL had the highest civilian labor force of 104 cities in 2020, at 1.41 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 7,215. The median was 18,166. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,406,954Chicago, IL
Lowest7,215East St. Louis, IL
Median18,166104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Chicago, IL: 1,406,954 personsChicago, IL1,406,954Aurora, IL: 93,494 personsAurora, IL93,494Joliet, IL: 75,639 personsJoliet, IL75,639Naperville, IL: 73,951 personsNaperville, IL73,951Rockford, IL: 68,227 personsRockford, IL68,227Elgin, IL: 58,153 personsElgin, IL58,153Springfield, IL: 53,411 personsSpringfield, IL53,411Peoria, IL: 52,336 personsPeoria, IL52,336Waukegan, IL: 46,250 personsWaukegan, IL46,250Champaign, IL: 44,952 personsChampaign, IL44,952Bloomington, IL: 40,461 personsBloomington, IL40,461Schaumburg, IL: 40,036 personsSchaumburg, IL40,036Cicero, IL: 39,759 personsCicero, IL39,759Bolingbrook, IL: 39,298 personsBolingbrook, IL39,298Arlington Heights, IL: 38,464 personsArlington Heights, IL38,464Evanston, IL: 37,372 personsEvanston, IL37,372Palatine, IL: 36,350 personsPalatine, IL36,350Skokie, IL: 31,988 personsSkokie, IL31,988Decatur, IL: 31,089 personsDecatur, IL31,089Des Plaines, IL: 30,811 personsDes Plaines, IL30,811Berwyn, IL: 29,406 personsBerwyn, IL29,406Mount Prospect, IL: 28,595 personsMount Prospect, IL28,595Tinley Park, IL: 28,087 personsTinley Park, IL28,087Oak Park, IL: 27,867 personsOak Park, IL27,867Orland Park, IL: 27,766 personsOrland Park, IL27,766Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,522 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,522Oak Lawn, IL: 27,409 personsOak Lawn, IL27,409Normal, IL: 26,936 personsNormal, IL26,936Wheaton, IL: 25,963 personsWheaton, IL25,963Downers Grove, IL: 25,238 personsDowners Grove, IL25,238Lombard, IL: 23,948 personsLombard, IL23,948Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,060 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,060Plainfield, IL: 22,599 personsPlainfield, IL22,599Bartlett, IL: 22,555 personsBartlett, IL22,555Romeoville, IL: 22,555 personsRomeoville, IL22,555Glenview, IL: 22,466 personsGlenview, IL22,466Elmhurst, IL: 21,664 personsElmhurst, IL21,664Wheeling, IL: 21,478 personsWheeling, IL21,478Belleville, IL: 21,386 personsBelleville, IL21,386Carol Stream, IL: 21,179 personsCarol Stream, IL21,179Chicago, IL: 1,406,954 personsChicago, IL1,406,954Aurora, IL: 93,494 personsAurora, IL93,494Joliet, IL: 75,639 personsJoliet, IL75,639Naperville, IL: 73,951 personsNaperville, IL73,951Rockford, IL: 68,227 personsRockford, IL68,227Elgin, IL: 58,153 personsElgin, IL58,153Springfield, IL: 53,411 personsSpringfield, IL53,411Peoria, IL: 52,336 personsPeoria, IL52,336Waukegan, IL: 46,250 personsWaukegan, IL46,250Champaign, IL: 44,952 personsChampaign, IL44,952Bloomington, IL: 40,461 personsBloomington, IL40,461Schaumburg, IL: 40,036 personsSchaumburg, IL40,036Cicero, IL: 39,759 personsCicero, IL39,759Bolingbrook, IL: 39,298 personsBolingbrook, IL39,298Arlington Heights, IL: 38,464 personsArlington Heights, IL38,464Evanston, IL: 37,372 personsEvanston, IL37,372Palatine, IL: 36,350 personsPalatine, IL36,350Skokie, IL: 31,988 personsSkokie, IL31,988Decatur, IL: 31,089 personsDecatur, IL31,089Des Plaines, IL: 30,811 personsDes Plaines, IL30,811Berwyn, IL: 29,406 personsBerwyn, IL29,406Mount Prospect, IL: 28,595 personsMount Prospect, IL28,595Tinley Park, IL: 28,087 personsTinley Park, IL28,087Oak Park, IL: 27,867 personsOak Park, IL27,867Orland Park, IL: 27,766 personsOrland Park, IL27,766Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,522 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,522Oak Lawn, IL: 27,409 personsOak Lawn, IL27,409Normal, IL: 26,936 personsNormal, IL26,936Wheaton, IL: 25,963 personsWheaton, IL25,963Downers Grove, IL: 25,238 personsDowners Grove, IL25,238Lombard, IL: 23,948 personsLombard, IL23,948Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,060 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,060Plainfield, IL: 22,599 personsPlainfield, IL22,599Bartlett, IL: 22,555 personsBartlett, IL22,555Romeoville, IL: 22,555 personsRomeoville, IL22,555Glenview, IL: 22,466 personsGlenview, IL22,466Elmhurst, IL: 21,664 personsElmhurst, IL21,664Wheeling, IL: 21,478 personsWheeling, IL21,478Belleville, IL: 21,386 personsBelleville, IL21,386Carol Stream, IL: 21,179 personsCarol Stream, IL21,179
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

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Chicago, IL1,406,954-1.7%
2Aurora, IL93,494-5%
3Joliet, IL75,639-3%
4Naperville, IL73,951-4.4%
5Rockford, IL68,227-2.7%
6Elgin, IL58,153-4.2%
7Springfield, IL53,411-2.6%
8Peoria, IL52,336-2%
9Waukegan, IL46,250-4.3%
10Champaign, IL44,952-1.2%
11Bloomington, IL40,461-3.7%
12Schaumburg, IL40,036-4.3%
13Cicero, IL39,759-3.9%
14Bolingbrook, IL39,298-3.8%
15Arlington Heights, IL38,464-5.1%
16Evanston, IL37,372-5%
17Palatine, IL36,350-4.7%
18Skokie, IL31,988-1.6%
19Decatur, IL31,089-2.8%
20Des Plaines, IL30,811-3.5%
21Berwyn, IL29,406-2.9%
22Mount Prospect, IL28,595-4.5%
23Tinley Park, IL28,087-3.6%
24Oak Park, IL27,867-4.7%
25Orland Park, IL27,766-3.9%
26Hoffman Estates, IL27,522-3.8%
27Oak Lawn, IL27,409-3%
28Normal, IL26,936-4.5%
29Wheaton, IL25,963-5.6%
30Downers Grove, IL25,238-5.2%
31Lombard, IL23,948-4.4%
32Buffalo Grove, IL23,060-4.5%
33Plainfield, IL22,599-3.3%
34Bartlett, IL22,555-4.6%
34Romeoville, IL22,555-2.5%
36Glenview, IL22,466-4.4%
37Elmhurst, IL21,664-5.1%
38Wheeling, IL21,478-2.8%
39Belleville, IL21,386-0.8%
40Carol Stream, IL21,179-4%
41Streamwood, IL21,172-3.4%
42Crystal Lake, IL21,045-4%
43Moline, IL20,943-3.4%
44Urbana, IL20,162-3.1%
45DeKalb, IL20,112-5.1%
46Carpentersville, IL20,083-5%
47Quincy, IL19,828-3.6%
48Addison, IL19,339-3.8%
49Park Ridge, IL19,147-4.9%
50Hanover Park, IL18,584-3.2%
51Woodridge, IL18,452-3.8%
52Oswego, IL18,344-2.9%
53St. Charles, IL17,987-5.5%
54Glendale Heights, IL17,986-3.7%
55Mundelein, IL17,527-3.9%
56Rock Island, IL17,436-4%
57Elk Grove Village, IL16,846-3.6%
58Gurnee, IL16,810-4.9%
59Calumet City, IL16,777-1.1%
60Algonquin, IL16,725-4.3%
61Northbrook, IL16,203-4.8%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,231-4%
63O'Fallon, IL15,169-3.2%
64Highland Park, IL14,717-4.4%
65Round Lake Beach, IL14,654-4.1%
66Pekin, IL14,639-3.1%
67McHenry, IL14,601-3.8%
68Oak Forest, IL14,428-3.7%
69Vernon Hills, IL14,306-4%
70Lockport, IL14,209-3.3%
71Lansing, IL14,022-1.8%
72Niles, IL13,996-2.1%
73Batavia, IL13,896-5.3%
74Burbank, IL13,704-2.9%
75New Lenox, IL13,671-3.3%
76Woodstock, IL13,415-4.9%
77Belvidere, IL13,292-4.1%
78Glen Ellyn, IL13,269-5%
79Collinsville, IL13,202-3%
80Edwardsville, IL12,987-4.2%
81West Chicago, IL12,883-5.7%
82Granite City, IL12,672-4.4%
83Zion, IL12,594-3.5%
84Alton, IL12,242-2.5%
85Morton Grove, IL12,051-3.3%
86Melrose Park, IL12,012-4.1%
87Elmwood Park, IL11,987-2.9%
87Galesburg, IL11,987-2.6%
89Westmont, IL11,915-4.1%
90Wilmette, IL11,718-5.7%
91Yorkville, IL11,585n/a
92Danville, IL11,408-0.1%
93Chicago Heights, IL11,378-1.6%
94Homer Glen, IL11,309-4.3%
95Huntley, IL11,289-3.5%
96Freeport, IL10,885-2.8%
97Kankakee, IL10,559-2.7%
98Park Forest, IL10,327-1.2%
99Carbondale, IL10,133-1.8%
100Maywood, IL10,012+1.4%
101North Chicago, IL9,955-4.2%
102Dolton, IL9,541+2.3%
103Harvey, IL8,642-0.4%
104East St. Louis, IL7,215+0.6%

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. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

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, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020. 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.CurrentU20-24. 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, 2020
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.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2020.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 1.41 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 7,215 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, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings