Data / Rankings / Covered employment (QCEW) / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW)

Cook County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 102 counties in 2014, at 2,468,453 jobs. Pope County had the lowest, at 561 jobs. The median was 8,087 jobs and the figure for Illinois was 5,762,156 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,468,453Cook County
Lowest561Pope County
Median8,087102 counties
Illinois5,762,156History

Map of counties, 2014

Adams County: 32,711 jobsAlexander County: 1,317 jobsBond County: 4,624 jobsBoone County: 16,736 jobsBrown County: 3,828 jobsBureau County: 11,848 jobsCalhoun County: 804 jobsCarroll County: 3,971 jobsCass County: 5,664 jobsChampaign County: 88,917 jobsChristian County: 10,706 jobsClark County: 4,621 jobsClay County: 5,084 jobsClinton County: 12,274 jobsColes County: 23,581 jobsCook County: 2,468,453 jobsCrawford County: 7,879 jobsCumberland County: 2,475 jobsDeKalb County: 36,874 jobsDe Witt County: 5,318 jobsDouglas County: 7,217 jobsDuPage County: 600,818 jobsEdgar County: 6,717 jobsEdwards County: 2,262 jobsEffingham County: 20,709 jobsFayette County: 5,419 jobsFord County: 4,498 jobsFranklin County: 8,221 jobsFulton County: 8,173 jobsGallatin County: 1,048 jobsGreene County: 2,420 jobsGrundy County: 17,513 jobsHamilton County: 1,966 jobsHancock County: 3,906 jobsHardin County: 884 jobsHenderson County: 1,130 jobsHenry County: 14,017 jobsIroquois County: 8,069 jobsJackson County: 25,116 jobsJasper County: 2,039 jobsJefferson County: 19,209 jobsJersey County: 4,790 jobsJo Daviess County: 7,766 jobsJohnson County: 2,373 jobsKane County: 204,257 jobsKankakee County: 43,370 jobsKendall County: 26,439 jobsKnox County: 19,528 jobsLake County: 330,111 jobsLaSalle County: 43,276 jobsLawrence County: 4,469 jobsLee County: 13,047 jobsLivingston County: 13,871 jobsLogan County: 8,993 jobsMcDonough County: 11,650 jobsMcHenry County: 95,798 jobsMcLean County: 84,322 jobsMacon County: 48,975 jobsMacoupin County: 9,999 jobsMadison County: 96,789 jobsMarion County: 12,887 jobsMarshall County: 3,061 jobsMason County: 3,215 jobsMassac County: 3,357 jobsMenard County: 1,881 jobsMercer County: 3,121 jobsMonroe County: 8,105 jobsMontgomery County: 8,575 jobsMorgan County: 14,349 jobsMoultrie County: 4,679 jobsOgle County: 15,768 jobsPeoria County: 100,367 jobsPerry County: 4,957 jobsPiatt County: 3,351 jobsPike County: 4,241 jobsPope County: 561 jobsPulaski County: 1,427 jobsPutnam County: 1,682 jobsRandolph County: 12,129 jobsRichland County: 5,993 jobsRock Island County: 73,685 jobsSt. Clair County: 92,011 jobsSaline County: 8,534 jobsSangamon County: 128,706 jobsSchuyler County: 1,978 jobsScott County: 1,024 jobsShelby County: 4,738 jobsStark County: 1,305 jobsStephenson County: 17,133 jobsTazewell County: 57,836 jobsUnion County: 4,789 jobsVermilion County: 27,995 jobsWabash County: 3,180 jobsWarren County: 6,267 jobsWashington County: 5,629 jobsWayne County: 4,141 jobsWhite County: 4,477 jobsWhiteside County: 21,232 jobsWill County: 215,179 jobsWilliamson County: 26,072 jobsWinnebago County: 126,130 jobsWoodford County: 11,082 jobs
  • Under 10K
  • 10K to 40K
  • 40K and over
jobs, 2014. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2014

Cook County: 2,468,453 jobsCook County2,468,453DuPage County: 600,818 jobsDuPage County600,818Lake County: 330,111 jobsLake County330,111Will County: 215,179 jobsWill County215,179Kane County: 204,257 jobsKane County204,257Sangamon County: 128,706 jobsSangamon County128,706Winnebago County: 126,130 jobsWinnebago County126,130Peoria County: 100,367 jobsPeoria County100,367Madison County: 96,789 jobsMadison County96,789McHenry County: 95,798 jobsMcHenry County95,798St. Clair County: 92,011 jobsSt. Clair County92,011Champaign County: 88,917 jobsChampaign County88,917McLean County: 84,322 jobsMcLean County84,322Rock Island County: 73,685 jobsRock Island County73,685Tazewell County: 57,836 jobsTazewell County57,836Macon County: 48,975 jobsMacon County48,975Kankakee County: 43,370 jobsKankakee County43,370LaSalle County: 43,276 jobsLaSalle County43,276DeKalb County: 36,874 jobsDeKalb County36,874Adams County: 32,711 jobsAdams County32,711Vermilion County: 27,995 jobsVermilion County27,995Kendall County: 26,439 jobsKendall County26,439Williamson County: 26,072 jobsWilliamson County26,072Jackson County: 25,116 jobsJackson County25,116Coles County: 23,581 jobsColes County23,581Whiteside County: 21,232 jobsWhiteside County21,232Effingham County: 20,709 jobsEffingham County20,709Knox County: 19,528 jobsKnox County19,528Jefferson County: 19,209 jobsJefferson County19,209Grundy County: 17,513 jobsGrundy County17,513Stephenson County: 17,133 jobsStephenson County17,133Boone County: 16,736 jobsBoone County16,736Ogle County: 15,768 jobsOgle County15,768Morgan County: 14,349 jobsMorgan County14,349Henry County: 14,017 jobsHenry County14,017Livingston County: 13,871 jobsLivingston County13,871Lee County: 13,047 jobsLee County13,047Marion County: 12,887 jobsMarion County12,887Clinton County: 12,274 jobsClinton County12,274Randolph County: 12,129 jobsRandolph County12,129Cook County: 2,468,453 jobsCook County2,468,453DuPage County: 600,818 jobsDuPage County600,818Lake County: 330,111 jobsLake County330,111Will County: 215,179 jobsWill County215,179Kane County: 204,257 jobsKane County204,257Sangamon County: 128,706 jobsSangamon County128,706Winnebago County: 126,130 jobsWinnebago County126,130Peoria County: 100,367 jobsPeoria County100,367Madison County: 96,789 jobsMadison County96,789McHenry County: 95,798 jobsMcHenry County95,798St. Clair County: 92,011 jobsSt. Clair County92,011Champaign County: 88,917 jobsChampaign County88,917McLean County: 84,322 jobsMcLean County84,322Rock Island County: 73,685 jobsRock Island County73,685Tazewell County: 57,836 jobsTazewell County57,836Macon County: 48,975 jobsMacon County48,975Kankakee County: 43,370 jobsKankakee County43,370LaSalle County: 43,276 jobsLaSalle County43,276DeKalb County: 36,874 jobsDeKalb County36,874Adams County: 32,711 jobsAdams County32,711Vermilion County: 27,995 jobsVermilion County27,995Kendall County: 26,439 jobsKendall County26,439Williamson County: 26,072 jobsWilliamson County26,072Jackson County: 25,116 jobsJackson County25,116Coles County: 23,581 jobsColes County23,581Whiteside County: 21,232 jobsWhiteside County21,232Effingham County: 20,709 jobsEffingham County20,709Knox County: 19,528 jobsKnox County19,528Jefferson County: 19,209 jobsJefferson County19,209Grundy County: 17,513 jobsGrundy County17,513Stephenson County: 17,133 jobsStephenson County17,133Boone County: 16,736 jobsBoone County16,736Ogle County: 15,768 jobsOgle County15,768Morgan County: 14,349 jobsMorgan County14,349Henry County: 14,017 jobsHenry County14,017Livingston County: 13,871 jobsLivingston County13,871Lee County: 13,047 jobsLee County13,047Marion County: 12,887 jobsMarion County12,887Clinton County: 12,274 jobsClinton County12,274Randolph County: 12,129 jobsRandolph County12,129
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
jobs		Change on 2013
1Cook County2,468,453+1.7%
2DuPage County600,818+2.3%
3Lake County330,111+1.2%
4Will County215,179+1.9%
5Kane County204,257+1.5%
6Sangamon County128,706+2.5%
7Winnebago County126,130+2.2%
8Peoria County100,367-1.1%
9Madison County96,789+2.3%
10McHenry County95,798+2.3%
11St. Clair County92,011-0.2%
12Champaign County88,917+1%
13McLean County84,322-1%
14Rock Island County73,685-0.7%
15Tazewell County57,836+0.4%
16Macon County48,975-0%
17Kankakee County43,370+1.2%
18LaSalle County43,276+0.5%
19DeKalb County36,874+1.9%
20Adams County32,711+0.1%
21Vermilion County27,995+1.4%
22Kendall County26,439+4%
23Williamson County26,072+1.2%
24Jackson County25,1160%
25Coles County23,581+3.6%
26Whiteside County21,232+2%
27Effingham County20,709+3.1%
28Knox County19,528+0.8%
29Jefferson County19,209+1%
30Grundy County17,513+4.7%
31Stephenson County17,133-1%
32Boone County16,736+0.7%
33Ogle County15,768+2.8%
34Morgan County14,349+0.2%
35Henry County14,017+0.2%
36Livingston County13,871+1.2%
37Lee County13,047+2.4%
38Marion County12,887+1.2%
39Clinton County12,274+1.1%
40Randolph County12,1290%
41Bureau County11,848-0.8%
42McDonough County11,650-1.6%
43Woodford County11,082+3.3%
44Christian County10,706-0.3%
45Macoupin County9,999+1.3%
46Logan County8,993+2.3%
47Montgomery County8,575-3.8%
48Saline County8,534-2.1%
49Franklin County8,221-1.2%
50Fulton County8,1730%
51Monroe County8,105-1.5%
52Iroquois County8,069+0.6%
53Crawford County7,879-0.4%
54Jo Daviess County7,766+0.3%
55Douglas County7,217+3%
56Edgar County6,717+4.1%
57Warren County6,267-0.6%
58Richland County5,993-1.9%
59Cass County5,664+2.4%
60Washington County5,629+3.2%
61Fayette County5,419-3.4%
62De Witt County5,318+0.4%
63Clay County5,084+3.8%
64Perry County4,957+1.5%
65Jersey County4,790+0.5%
66Union County4,789-0.5%
67Shelby County4,738+0.5%
68Moultrie County4,679+1.9%
69Bond County4,624+0.2%
70Clark County4,621+3%
71Ford County4,498-1.6%
72White County4,477+2%
73Lawrence County4,469+3.8%
74Pike County4,241+3.6%
75Wayne County4,141-3%
76Carroll County3,971-0.2%
77Hancock County3,906-0.7%
78Brown County3,828+8.3%
79Massac County3,357-3.3%
80Piatt County3,351+2.3%
81Mason County3,215+2.3%
82Wabash County3,180-1.5%
83Mercer County3,121+1.8%
84Marshall County3,061+1.8%
85Cumberland County2,475+6.2%
86Greene County2,420-3.5%
87Johnson County2,373+1.4%
88Edwards County2,262+0.8%
89Jasper County2,039-5.4%
90Schuyler County1,978+2.3%
91Hamilton County1,966+12%
92Menard County1,881+2%
93Putnam County1,682+1.1%
94Pulaski County1,427-1.7%
95Alexander County1,317-6.8%
96Stark County1,305-1.7%
97Henderson County1,130+5.2%
98Gallatin County1,048-1.5%
99Scott County1,024+2.4%
100Hardin County884+1.4%
101Calhoun County804-0.6%
102Pope County561-2.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. 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). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_illinois_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by covered employment (QCEW), 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/illinois-counties?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Cook County, with 2,468,453 jobs in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Pope County, with 561 jobs in 2014.

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, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings