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 2024, at 1.5 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,817. The median was 19,547. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,496,105Chicago, IL
Lowest6,817East St. Louis, IL
Median19,547104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2024

Chicago, IL: 1,496,105 personsChicago, IL1,496,105Aurora, IL: 98,405 personsAurora, IL98,405Naperville, IL: 83,377 personsNaperville, IL83,377Joliet, IL: 82,096 personsJoliet, IL82,096Rockford, IL: 65,920 personsRockford, IL65,920Elgin, IL: 60,152 personsElgin, IL60,152Springfield, IL: 55,008 personsSpringfield, IL55,008Peoria, IL: 52,731 personsPeoria, IL52,731Champaign, IL: 47,601 personsChampaign, IL47,601Waukegan, IL: 46,070 personsWaukegan, IL46,070Bloomington, IL: 44,577 personsBloomington, IL44,577Bolingbrook, IL: 43,378 personsBolingbrook, IL43,378Schaumburg, IL: 42,872 personsSchaumburg, IL42,872Cicero, IL: 41,812 personsCicero, IL41,812Arlington Heights, IL: 41,364 personsArlington Heights, IL41,364Evanston, IL: 40,225 personsEvanston, IL40,225Palatine, IL: 38,848 personsPalatine, IL38,848Skokie, IL: 33,327 personsSkokie, IL33,327Des Plaines, IL: 32,481 personsDes Plaines, IL32,481Mount Prospect, IL: 30,681 personsMount Prospect, IL30,681Berwyn, IL: 30,668 personsBerwyn, IL30,668Tinley Park, IL: 29,953 personsTinley Park, IL29,953Orland Park, IL: 29,944 personsOrland Park, IL29,944Normal, IL: 29,917 personsNormal, IL29,917Oak Park, IL: 29,748 personsOak Park, IL29,748Decatur, IL: 29,563 personsDecatur, IL29,563Hoffman Estates, IL: 29,094 personsHoffman Estates, IL29,094Oak Lawn, IL: 28,813 personsOak Lawn, IL28,813Wheaton, IL: 28,659 personsWheaton, IL28,659Downers Grove, IL: 28,089 personsDowners Grove, IL28,089Plainfield, IL: 26,764 personsPlainfield, IL26,764Lombard, IL: 26,240 personsLombard, IL26,240Romeoville, IL: 24,591 personsRomeoville, IL24,591Bartlett, IL: 24,542 personsBartlett, IL24,542Elmhurst, IL: 24,182 personsElmhurst, IL24,182Glenview, IL: 24,101 personsGlenview, IL24,101Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,800 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,800Crystal Lake, IL: 23,746 personsCrystal Lake, IL23,746Wheeling, IL: 22,960 personsWheeling, IL22,960Carol Stream, IL: 22,940 personsCarol Stream, IL22,940Chicago, IL: 1,496,105 personsChicago, IL1,496,105Aurora, IL: 98,405 personsAurora, IL98,405Naperville, IL: 83,377 personsNaperville, IL83,377Joliet, IL: 82,096 personsJoliet, IL82,096Rockford, IL: 65,920 personsRockford, IL65,920Elgin, IL: 60,152 personsElgin, IL60,152Springfield, IL: 55,008 personsSpringfield, IL55,008Peoria, IL: 52,731 personsPeoria, IL52,731Champaign, IL: 47,601 personsChampaign, IL47,601Waukegan, IL: 46,070 personsWaukegan, IL46,070Bloomington, IL: 44,577 personsBloomington, IL44,577Bolingbrook, IL: 43,378 personsBolingbrook, IL43,378Schaumburg, IL: 42,872 personsSchaumburg, IL42,872Cicero, IL: 41,812 personsCicero, IL41,812Arlington Heights, IL: 41,364 personsArlington Heights, IL41,364Evanston, IL: 40,225 personsEvanston, IL40,225Palatine, IL: 38,848 personsPalatine, IL38,848Skokie, IL: 33,327 personsSkokie, IL33,327Des Plaines, IL: 32,481 personsDes Plaines, IL32,481Mount Prospect, IL: 30,681 personsMount Prospect, IL30,681Berwyn, IL: 30,668 personsBerwyn, IL30,668Tinley Park, IL: 29,953 personsTinley Park, IL29,953Orland Park, IL: 29,944 personsOrland Park, IL29,944Normal, IL: 29,917 personsNormal, IL29,917Oak Park, IL: 29,748 personsOak Park, IL29,748Decatur, IL: 29,563 personsDecatur, IL29,563Hoffman Estates, IL: 29,094 personsHoffman Estates, IL29,094Oak Lawn, IL: 28,813 personsOak Lawn, IL28,813Wheaton, IL: 28,659 personsWheaton, IL28,659Downers Grove, IL: 28,089 personsDowners Grove, IL28,089Plainfield, IL: 26,764 personsPlainfield, IL26,764Lombard, IL: 26,240 personsLombard, IL26,240Romeoville, IL: 24,591 personsRomeoville, IL24,591Bartlett, IL: 24,542 personsBartlett, IL24,542Elmhurst, IL: 24,182 personsElmhurst, IL24,182Glenview, IL: 24,101 personsGlenview, IL24,101Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,800 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,800Crystal Lake, IL: 23,746 personsCrystal Lake, IL23,746Wheeling, IL: 22,960 personsWheeling, IL22,960Carol Stream, IL: 22,940 personsCarol Stream, IL22,940
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

RankCities2024
persons		Change on 2023
1Chicago, IL1,496,105+2.7%
2Aurora, IL98,405+1.2%
3Naperville, IL83,377+2.9%
4Joliet, IL82,096+2.2%
5Rockford, IL65,920-0.3%
6Elgin, IL60,152+1%
7Springfield, IL55,008+1.4%
8Peoria, IL52,731+1.4%
9Champaign, IL47,601+0.9%
10Waukegan, IL46,070-0.7%
11Bloomington, IL44,577+1.7%
12Bolingbrook, IL43,378+2.5%
13Schaumburg, IL42,872+2.7%
14Cicero, IL41,812+2.4%
15Arlington Heights, IL41,364+2.4%
16Evanston, IL40,225+2.3%
17Palatine, IL38,848+2.5%
18Skokie, IL33,327+2.5%
19Des Plaines, IL32,481+2.5%
20Mount Prospect, IL30,681+3%
21Berwyn, IL30,668+2.5%
22Tinley Park, IL29,953+3%
23Orland Park, IL29,944+2.5%
24Normal, IL29,917+1.7%
25Oak Park, IL29,748+2.4%
26Decatur, IL29,563-0.7%
27Hoffman Estates, IL29,094+2.3%
28Oak Lawn, IL28,813+2.6%
29Wheaton, IL28,659+2.3%
30Downers Grove, IL28,089+2.6%
31Plainfield, IL26,764+4.2%
32Lombard, IL26,240+2.6%
33Romeoville, IL24,591+1.8%
34Bartlett, IL24,542+2.8%
35Elmhurst, IL24,182+2.7%
36Glenview, IL24,101+2.4%
37Buffalo Grove, IL23,800+1.2%
38Crystal Lake, IL23,746+3%
39Wheeling, IL22,960+2.5%
40Carol Stream, IL22,940+2.5%
41Streamwood, IL22,267+2.5%
42Addison, IL21,112+2.5%
43Urbana, IL21,083+0.6%
44Oswego, IL20,924+4.5%
45Moline, IL20,757+1%
46DeKalb, IL20,653+0.3%
47Belleville, IL20,487-0.7%
48Park Ridge, IL20,456+2.3%
49Woodridge, IL20,149+2.6%
50Carpentersville, IL20,086-0.6%
51Quincy, IL19,899+0.2%
52Hanover Park, IL19,745+2.3%
53Glendale Heights, IL19,348+2.3%
54St. Charles, IL18,720+1.7%
55Algonquin, IL18,422+2.1%
56Mundelein, IL18,174+1.7%
57Elk Grove Village, IL17,713+2.3%
58Northbrook, IL17,518+2.3%
59Rock Island, IL17,223+0.7%
60Calumet City, IL17,182+2.5%
61McHenry, IL16,901+3.6%
62Gurnee, IL16,8710%
63Lake in the Hills, IL16,437+1.7%
64Lockport, IL16,028+2.7%
65New Lenox, IL15,626+2.8%
66O'Fallon, IL15,539+0.5%
67Oak Forest, IL15,299+3.4%
68Highland Park, IL15,192+0.8%
69Woodstock, IL14,983+2.1%
70Pekin, IL14,873+0.9%
71Round Lake Beach, IL14,6640%
72Glen Ellyn, IL14,634+2.5%
73Lansing, IL14,539+2.4%
74Niles, IL14,518+2.5%
75Burbank, IL14,426+2.8%
76Vernon Hills, IL14,419+0.1%
77Batavia, IL14,343-0.1%
78West Chicago, IL14,168+2.2%
79Yorkville, IL14,161+4.5%
80Edwardsville, IL13,480+0.3%
81Belvidere, IL13,190-1.2%
82Collinsville, IL13,162-0.2%
83Westmont, IL12,964+2.5%
84Granite City, IL12,875+0.9%
85Wilmette, IL12,753+2.5%
86Huntley, IL12,697+2.3%
87Melrose Park, IL12,682+2.3%
88Morton Grove, IL12,659+2.3%
89Homer Glen, IL12,531+2.6%
90Elmwood Park, IL12,507+2.4%
91Zion, IL12,489-0.3%
92Alton, IL12,132-0.1%
93Galesburg, IL11,822+1.9%
94Chicago Heights, IL11,713+2.5%
95Danville, IL11,047-0.2%
96Freeport, IL10,846+0.2%
97Park Forest, IL10,676+2.3%
98Maywood, IL10,380+3.7%
99Carbondale, IL10,106+2.1%
100Kankakee, IL10,056-0.3%
101North Chicago, IL9,935-0.5%
102Dolton, IL9,518+2.9%
103Harvey, IL8,838+3.4%
104East St. Louis, IL6,817+1.1%

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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/illinois-cities?period=2024.
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 1.5 million in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,817 in 2024.

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