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 2023, at 1.46 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,743. The median was 19,103. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,456,449Chicago, IL
Lowest6,743East St. Louis, IL
Median19,103104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2023

Chicago, IL: 1,456,449 personsChicago, IL1,456,449Aurora, IL: 97,281 personsAurora, IL97,281Naperville, IL: 81,064 personsNaperville, IL81,064Joliet, IL: 80,305 personsJoliet, IL80,305Rockford, IL: 66,087 personsRockford, IL66,087Elgin, IL: 59,536 personsElgin, IL59,536Springfield, IL: 54,235 personsSpringfield, IL54,235Peoria, IL: 52,020 personsPeoria, IL52,020Champaign, IL: 47,162 personsChampaign, IL47,162Waukegan, IL: 46,378 personsWaukegan, IL46,378Bloomington, IL: 43,832 personsBloomington, IL43,832Bolingbrook, IL: 42,319 personsBolingbrook, IL42,319Schaumburg, IL: 41,741 personsSchaumburg, IL41,741Cicero, IL: 40,827 personsCicero, IL40,827Arlington Heights, IL: 40,409 personsArlington Heights, IL40,409Evanston, IL: 39,317 personsEvanston, IL39,317Palatine, IL: 37,894 personsPalatine, IL37,894Skokie, IL: 32,513 personsSkokie, IL32,513Des Plaines, IL: 31,686 personsDes Plaines, IL31,686Berwyn, IL: 29,929 personsBerwyn, IL29,929Mount Prospect, IL: 29,787 personsMount Prospect, IL29,787Decatur, IL: 29,769 personsDecatur, IL29,769Normal, IL: 29,405 personsNormal, IL29,405Orland Park, IL: 29,207 personsOrland Park, IL29,207Tinley Park, IL: 29,087 personsTinley Park, IL29,087Oak Park, IL: 29,059 personsOak Park, IL29,059Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,442 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,442Oak Lawn, IL: 28,088 personsOak Lawn, IL28,088Wheaton, IL: 28,018 personsWheaton, IL28,018Downers Grove, IL: 27,380 personsDowners Grove, IL27,380Plainfield, IL: 25,686 personsPlainfield, IL25,686Lombard, IL: 25,574 personsLombard, IL25,574Romeoville, IL: 24,154 personsRomeoville, IL24,154Bartlett, IL: 23,867 personsBartlett, IL23,867Elmhurst, IL: 23,547 personsElmhurst, IL23,547Glenview, IL: 23,544 personsGlenview, IL23,544Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,529 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,529Crystal Lake, IL: 23,045 personsCrystal Lake, IL23,045Wheeling, IL: 22,407 personsWheeling, IL22,407Carol Stream, IL: 22,375 personsCarol Stream, IL22,375Chicago, IL: 1,456,449 personsChicago, IL1,456,449Aurora, IL: 97,281 personsAurora, IL97,281Naperville, IL: 81,064 personsNaperville, IL81,064Joliet, IL: 80,305 personsJoliet, IL80,305Rockford, IL: 66,087 personsRockford, IL66,087Elgin, IL: 59,536 personsElgin, IL59,536Springfield, IL: 54,235 personsSpringfield, IL54,235Peoria, IL: 52,020 personsPeoria, IL52,020Champaign, IL: 47,162 personsChampaign, IL47,162Waukegan, IL: 46,378 personsWaukegan, IL46,378Bloomington, IL: 43,832 personsBloomington, IL43,832Bolingbrook, IL: 42,319 personsBolingbrook, IL42,319Schaumburg, IL: 41,741 personsSchaumburg, IL41,741Cicero, IL: 40,827 personsCicero, IL40,827Arlington Heights, IL: 40,409 personsArlington Heights, IL40,409Evanston, IL: 39,317 personsEvanston, IL39,317Palatine, IL: 37,894 personsPalatine, IL37,894Skokie, IL: 32,513 personsSkokie, IL32,513Des Plaines, IL: 31,686 personsDes Plaines, IL31,686Berwyn, IL: 29,929 personsBerwyn, IL29,929Mount Prospect, IL: 29,787 personsMount Prospect, IL29,787Decatur, IL: 29,769 personsDecatur, IL29,769Normal, IL: 29,405 personsNormal, IL29,405Orland Park, IL: 29,207 personsOrland Park, IL29,207Tinley Park, IL: 29,087 personsTinley Park, IL29,087Oak Park, IL: 29,059 personsOak Park, IL29,059Hoffman Estates, IL: 28,442 personsHoffman Estates, IL28,442Oak Lawn, IL: 28,088 personsOak Lawn, IL28,088Wheaton, IL: 28,018 personsWheaton, IL28,018Downers Grove, IL: 27,380 personsDowners Grove, IL27,380Plainfield, IL: 25,686 personsPlainfield, IL25,686Lombard, IL: 25,574 personsLombard, IL25,574Romeoville, IL: 24,154 personsRomeoville, IL24,154Bartlett, IL: 23,867 personsBartlett, IL23,867Elmhurst, IL: 23,547 personsElmhurst, IL23,547Glenview, IL: 23,544 personsGlenview, IL23,544Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,529 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,529Crystal Lake, IL: 23,045 personsCrystal Lake, IL23,045Wheeling, IL: 22,407 personsWheeling, IL22,407Carol Stream, IL: 22,375 personsCarol Stream, IL22,375
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

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Chicago, IL1,456,449+0.7%
2Aurora, IL97,281+1.1%
3Naperville, IL81,064+1.4%
4Joliet, IL80,305+0.7%
5Rockford, IL66,087-0.1%
6Elgin, IL59,536+0.9%
7Springfield, IL54,2350%
8Peoria, IL52,020+1.4%
9Champaign, IL47,162+1.4%
10Waukegan, IL46,378+0.9%
11Bloomington, IL43,832+3.2%
12Bolingbrook, IL42,319+0.9%
13Schaumburg, IL41,741+0.4%
14Cicero, IL40,827-0.6%
15Arlington Heights, IL40,409+0.3%
16Evanston, IL39,317+0.4%
17Palatine, IL37,894+0.2%
18Skokie, IL32,513+0.1%
19Des Plaines, IL31,686-0.3%
20Berwyn, IL29,929-0.5%
21Mount Prospect, IL29,787+0.2%
22Decatur, IL29,769-0.6%
23Normal, IL29,405+3.3%
24Orland Park, IL29,207+0.2%
25Tinley Park, IL29,087-0.1%
26Oak Park, IL29,059+0.3%
27Hoffman Estates, IL28,442+0.2%
28Oak Lawn, IL28,088-0.5%
29Wheaton, IL28,018+1%
30Downers Grove, IL27,380+1.7%
31Plainfield, IL25,686+3.4%
32Lombard, IL25,574+0.6%
33Romeoville, IL24,154+0.5%
34Bartlett, IL23,867+0.6%
35Elmhurst, IL23,547+1%
36Glenview, IL23,544+0.5%
37Buffalo Grove, IL23,529+0.9%
38Crystal Lake, IL23,045+1.4%
39Wheeling, IL22,407+0.4%
40Carol Stream, IL22,375+0.6%
41Streamwood, IL21,716-0.2%
42Urbana, IL20,962+0.7%
43Belleville, IL20,625+0.2%
44Addison, IL20,601+0.8%
45DeKalb, IL20,586+0.9%
46Moline, IL20,556+0.8%
47Carpentersville, IL20,203+0.4%
48Oswego, IL20,017+3.9%
49Park Ridge, IL19,997+0.2%
50Quincy, IL19,863+1%
51Woodridge, IL19,645+0.7%
52Hanover Park, IL19,294+0.1%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,911+0.7%
54St. Charles, IL18,407+0.9%
55Algonquin, IL18,043+1.6%
56Mundelein, IL17,866+1.6%
57Elk Grove Village, IL17,308+0.1%
58Northbrook, IL17,124+0.8%
59Rock Island, IL17,108+0.6%
60Gurnee, IL16,864+0.8%
61Calumet City, IL16,766-0.9%
62McHenry, IL16,316+0.6%
63Lake in the Hills, IL16,164+0.6%
64Lockport, IL15,605+2.3%
65O'Fallon, IL15,467+1.1%
66New Lenox, IL15,205+2.2%
67Highland Park, IL15,065+1.6%
68Oak Forest, IL14,800-0.5%
69Pekin, IL14,740+1.1%
70Woodstock, IL14,671+0.9%
71Round Lake Beach, IL14,660+0.8%
72Vernon Hills, IL14,401+1.1%
73Batavia, IL14,359+1.4%
74Glen Ellyn, IL14,271+1%
75Lansing, IL14,194-0.5%
76Niles, IL14,163-0.2%
77Burbank, IL14,033-0.3%
78West Chicago, IL13,868+0.4%
79Yorkville, IL13,545+4.3%
80Edwardsville, IL13,434+1.7%
81Belvidere, IL13,345+1%
82Collinsville, IL13,182+0.7%
83Granite City, IL12,754+0.9%
84Westmont, IL12,648+0.7%
85Zion, IL12,526+0.8%
86Wilmette, IL12,441+0.6%
87Huntley, IL12,416+1.5%
88Melrose Park, IL12,392-0.7%
89Morton Grove, IL12,380+0.2%
90Elmwood Park, IL12,210-0.1%
91Homer Glen, IL12,209+0.8%
92Alton, IL12,141+0.7%
93Galesburg, IL11,596+3.2%
94Chicago Heights, IL11,423-1%
95Danville, IL11,072-0.9%
96Freeport, IL10,822+1.9%
97Park Forest, IL10,431-0%
98Kankakee, IL10,085+0.2%
99Maywood, IL10,0140%
100North Chicago, IL9,983+0.7%
101Carbondale, IL9,898-1.1%
102Dolton, IL9,252-1%
103Harvey, IL8,546-0.7%
104East St. Louis, IL6,743+0.3%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2023.
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 1.46 million in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,743 in 2023.

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