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 2021, at 1.41 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 7,142. The median was 18,417. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,414,888Chicago, IL
Lowest7,142East St. Louis, IL
Median18,417104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Chicago, IL: 1,414,888 personsChicago, IL1,414,888Aurora, IL: 94,117 personsAurora, IL94,117Joliet, IL: 77,131 personsJoliet, IL77,131Naperville, IL: 76,021 personsNaperville, IL76,021Rockford, IL: 67,414 personsRockford, IL67,414Elgin, IL: 58,139 personsElgin, IL58,139Springfield, IL: 54,135 personsSpringfield, IL54,135Peoria, IL: 52,102 personsPeoria, IL52,102Waukegan, IL: 46,642 personsWaukegan, IL46,642Champaign, IL: 46,078 personsChampaign, IL46,078Bloomington, IL: 41,083 personsBloomington, IL41,083Schaumburg, IL: 40,262 personsSchaumburg, IL40,262Cicero, IL: 40,029 personsCicero, IL40,029Bolingbrook, IL: 40,028 personsBolingbrook, IL40,028Arlington Heights, IL: 38,868 personsArlington Heights, IL38,868Evanston, IL: 37,961 personsEvanston, IL37,961Palatine, IL: 36,652 personsPalatine, IL36,652Skokie, IL: 31,696 personsSkokie, IL31,696Des Plaines, IL: 30,897 personsDes Plaines, IL30,897Decatur, IL: 30,633 personsDecatur, IL30,633Berwyn, IL: 29,454 personsBerwyn, IL29,454Mount Prospect, IL: 28,771 personsMount Prospect, IL28,771Tinley Park, IL: 28,173 personsTinley Park, IL28,173Oak Park, IL: 28,121 personsOak Park, IL28,121Orland Park, IL: 28,090 personsOrland Park, IL28,090Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,566 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,566Oak Lawn, IL: 27,467 personsOak Lawn, IL27,467Normal, IL: 27,419 personsNormal, IL27,419Wheaton, IL: 26,553 personsWheaton, IL26,553Downers Grove, IL: 25,851 personsDowners Grove, IL25,851Lombard, IL: 24,334 personsLombard, IL24,334Plainfield, IL: 23,370 personsPlainfield, IL23,370Romeoville, IL: 23,297 personsRomeoville, IL23,297Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,047 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,047Bartlett, IL: 22,871 personsBartlett, IL22,871Glenview, IL: 22,612 personsGlenview, IL22,612Elmhurst, IL: 22,224 personsElmhurst, IL22,224Wheeling, IL: 21,662 personsWheeling, IL21,662Crystal Lake, IL: 21,611 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,611Carol Stream, IL: 21,418 personsCarol Stream, IL21,418Chicago, IL: 1,414,888 personsChicago, IL1,414,888Aurora, IL: 94,117 personsAurora, IL94,117Joliet, IL: 77,131 personsJoliet, IL77,131Naperville, IL: 76,021 personsNaperville, IL76,021Rockford, IL: 67,414 personsRockford, IL67,414Elgin, IL: 58,139 personsElgin, IL58,139Springfield, IL: 54,135 personsSpringfield, IL54,135Peoria, IL: 52,102 personsPeoria, IL52,102Waukegan, IL: 46,642 personsWaukegan, IL46,642Champaign, IL: 46,078 personsChampaign, IL46,078Bloomington, IL: 41,083 personsBloomington, IL41,083Schaumburg, IL: 40,262 personsSchaumburg, IL40,262Cicero, IL: 40,029 personsCicero, IL40,029Bolingbrook, IL: 40,028 personsBolingbrook, IL40,028Arlington Heights, IL: 38,868 personsArlington Heights, IL38,868Evanston, IL: 37,961 personsEvanston, IL37,961Palatine, IL: 36,652 personsPalatine, IL36,652Skokie, IL: 31,696 personsSkokie, IL31,696Des Plaines, IL: 30,897 personsDes Plaines, IL30,897Decatur, IL: 30,633 personsDecatur, IL30,633Berwyn, IL: 29,454 personsBerwyn, IL29,454Mount Prospect, IL: 28,771 personsMount Prospect, IL28,771Tinley Park, IL: 28,173 personsTinley Park, IL28,173Oak Park, IL: 28,121 personsOak Park, IL28,121Orland Park, IL: 28,090 personsOrland Park, IL28,090Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,566 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,566Oak Lawn, IL: 27,467 personsOak Lawn, IL27,467Normal, IL: 27,419 personsNormal, IL27,419Wheaton, IL: 26,553 personsWheaton, IL26,553Downers Grove, IL: 25,851 personsDowners Grove, IL25,851Lombard, IL: 24,334 personsLombard, IL24,334Plainfield, IL: 23,370 personsPlainfield, IL23,370Romeoville, IL: 23,297 personsRomeoville, IL23,297Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,047 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,047Bartlett, IL: 22,871 personsBartlett, IL22,871Glenview, IL: 22,612 personsGlenview, IL22,612Elmhurst, IL: 22,224 personsElmhurst, IL22,224Wheeling, IL: 21,662 personsWheeling, IL21,662Crystal Lake, IL: 21,611 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,611Carol Stream, IL: 21,418 personsCarol Stream, IL21,418
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

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Chicago, IL1,414,888+0.6%
2Aurora, IL94,117+0.7%
3Joliet, IL77,131+2%
4Naperville, IL76,021+2.8%
5Rockford, IL67,414-1.2%
6Elgin, IL58,139-0%
7Springfield, IL54,135+1.4%
8Peoria, IL52,102-0.4%
9Waukegan, IL46,642+0.8%
10Champaign, IL46,078+2.5%
11Bloomington, IL41,083+1.5%
12Schaumburg, IL40,262+0.6%
13Cicero, IL40,029+0.7%
14Bolingbrook, IL40,028+1.9%
15Arlington Heights, IL38,868+1.1%
16Evanston, IL37,961+1.6%
17Palatine, IL36,652+0.8%
18Skokie, IL31,696-0.9%
19Des Plaines, IL30,897+0.3%
20Decatur, IL30,633-1.5%
21Berwyn, IL29,454+0.2%
22Mount Prospect, IL28,771+0.6%
23Tinley Park, IL28,173+0.3%
24Oak Park, IL28,121+0.9%
25Orland Park, IL28,090+1.2%
26Hoffman Estates, IL27,566+0.2%
27Oak Lawn, IL27,467+0.2%
28Normal, IL27,419+1.8%
29Wheaton, IL26,553+2.3%
30Downers Grove, IL25,851+2.4%
31Lombard, IL24,334+1.6%
32Plainfield, IL23,370+3.4%
33Romeoville, IL23,297+3.3%
34Buffalo Grove, IL23,047-0.1%
35Bartlett, IL22,871+1.4%
36Glenview, IL22,612+0.6%
37Elmhurst, IL22,224+2.6%
38Wheeling, IL21,662+0.9%
39Crystal Lake, IL21,611+2.7%
40Carol Stream, IL21,418+1.1%
41Streamwood, IL21,221+0.2%
42Belleville, IL21,111-1.3%
43Urbana, IL20,678+2.6%
44Moline, IL20,587-1.7%
45DeKalb, IL20,326+1.1%
46Carpentersville, IL19,982-0.5%
47Quincy, IL19,789-0.2%
48Addison, IL19,649+1.6%
49Park Ridge, IL19,292+0.8%
50Woodridge, IL18,801+1.9%
51Hanover Park, IL18,650+0.4%
52Oswego, IL18,599+1.4%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,234+1.4%
54St. Charles, IL17,9910%
55Mundelein, IL17,565+0.2%
56Rock Island, IL17,208-1.3%
57Algonquin, IL17,112+2.3%
58Calumet City, IL17,054+1.7%
59Gurnee, IL16,840+0.2%
60Elk Grove Village, IL16,814-0.2%
61Northbrook, IL16,380+1.1%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,509+1.8%
63O'Fallon, IL15,298+0.9%
64McHenry, IL15,131+3.6%
65Highland Park, IL14,784+0.5%
66Round Lake Beach, IL14,682+0.2%
67Pekin, IL14,609-0.2%
68Lockport, IL14,585+2.6%
69Oak Forest, IL14,466+0.3%
70Vernon Hills, IL14,252-0.4%
71Lansing, IL14,155+0.9%
72New Lenox, IL14,102+3.2%
73Batavia, IL13,960+0.5%
74Woodstock, IL13,905+3.7%
75Niles, IL13,847-1.1%
76Burbank, IL13,782+0.6%
77Glen Ellyn, IL13,553+2.1%
78Belvidere, IL13,264-0.2%
79West Chicago, IL13,230+2.7%
80Collinsville, IL13,199-0%
81Edwardsville, IL13,131+1.1%
82Zion, IL12,735+1.1%
83Granite City, IL12,732+0.5%
84Alton, IL12,272+0.2%
85Yorkville, IL12,169+5%
86Melrose Park, IL12,128+1%
87Westmont, IL12,127+1.8%
88Morton Grove, IL12,006-0.4%
89Elmwood Park, IL11,960-0.2%
90Wilmette, IL11,931+1.8%
91Galesburg, IL11,657-2.8%
92Huntley, IL11,637+3.1%
93Chicago Heights, IL11,607+2%
94Homer Glen, IL11,559+2.2%
95Danville, IL11,247-1.4%
96Freeport, IL10,774-1%
97Park Forest, IL10,441+1.1%
98Kankakee, IL10,352-2%
99Carbondale, IL10,094-0.4%
100North Chicago, IL10,059+1%
101Maywood, IL10,048+0.4%
102Dolton, IL9,575+0.4%
103Harvey, IL8,744+1.2%
104East St. Louis, IL7,142-1%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2021.
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 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 7,142 in 2021.

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