Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 103 cities in 2017, at 1.36 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,706. The median was 18,046. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,359,947Chicago, IL
Lowest6,706East St. Louis, IL
Median18,046103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2017

Chicago, IL: 1,359,947 personsChicago, IL1,359,947Aurora, IL: 94,514 personsAurora, IL94,514Naperville, IL: 73,574 personsNaperville, IL73,574Joliet, IL: 73,474 personsJoliet, IL73,474Rockford, IL: 64,898 personsRockford, IL64,898Elgin, IL: 57,589 personsElgin, IL57,589Springfield, IL: 53,280 personsSpringfield, IL53,280Peoria, IL: 50,767 personsPeoria, IL50,767Waukegan, IL: 45,239 personsWaukegan, IL45,239Champaign, IL: 42,155 personsChampaign, IL42,155Bloomington, IL: 41,085 personsBloomington, IL41,085Schaumburg, IL: 40,351 personsSchaumburg, IL40,351Cicero, IL: 39,877 personsCicero, IL39,877Bolingbrook, IL: 39,124 personsBolingbrook, IL39,124Arlington Heights, IL: 39,041 personsArlington Heights, IL39,041Evanston, IL: 37,981 personsEvanston, IL37,981Palatine, IL: 36,853 personsPalatine, IL36,853Skokie, IL: 31,453 personsSkokie, IL31,453Decatur, IL: 30,569 personsDecatur, IL30,569Des Plaines, IL: 29,864 personsDes Plaines, IL29,864Berwyn, IL: 29,155 personsBerwyn, IL29,155Mount Prospect, IL: 29,054 personsMount Prospect, IL29,054Tinley Park, IL: 28,032 personsTinley Park, IL28,032Orland Park, IL: 27,806 personsOrland Park, IL27,806Oak Park, IL: 27,695 personsOak Park, IL27,695Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,480 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,480Normal, IL: 27,301 personsNormal, IL27,301Oak Lawn, IL: 27,173 personsOak Lawn, IL27,173Wheaton, IL: 26,586 personsWheaton, IL26,586Downers Grove, IL: 25,720 personsDowners Grove, IL25,720Lombard, IL: 23,685 personsLombard, IL23,685Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,142 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,142Bartlett, IL: 22,813 personsBartlett, IL22,813Glenview, IL: 22,546 personsGlenview, IL22,546Plainfield, IL: 22,109 personsPlainfield, IL22,109Romeoville, IL: 21,887 personsRomeoville, IL21,887Elmhurst, IL: 21,755 personsElmhurst, IL21,755Carol Stream, IL: 21,368 personsCarol Stream, IL21,368Crystal Lake, IL: 21,069 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,069Streamwood, IL: 21,056 personsStreamwood, IL21,056Chicago, IL: 1,359,947 personsChicago, IL1,359,947Aurora, IL: 94,514 personsAurora, IL94,514Naperville, IL: 73,574 personsNaperville, IL73,574Joliet, IL: 73,474 personsJoliet, IL73,474Rockford, IL: 64,898 personsRockford, IL64,898Elgin, IL: 57,589 personsElgin, IL57,589Springfield, IL: 53,280 personsSpringfield, IL53,280Peoria, IL: 50,767 personsPeoria, IL50,767Waukegan, IL: 45,239 personsWaukegan, IL45,239Champaign, IL: 42,155 personsChampaign, IL42,155Bloomington, IL: 41,085 personsBloomington, IL41,085Schaumburg, IL: 40,351 personsSchaumburg, IL40,351Cicero, IL: 39,877 personsCicero, IL39,877Bolingbrook, IL: 39,124 personsBolingbrook, IL39,124Arlington Heights, IL: 39,041 personsArlington Heights, IL39,041Evanston, IL: 37,981 personsEvanston, IL37,981Palatine, IL: 36,853 personsPalatine, IL36,853Skokie, IL: 31,453 personsSkokie, IL31,453Decatur, IL: 30,569 personsDecatur, IL30,569Des Plaines, IL: 29,864 personsDes Plaines, IL29,864Berwyn, IL: 29,155 personsBerwyn, IL29,155Mount Prospect, IL: 29,054 personsMount Prospect, IL29,054Tinley Park, IL: 28,032 personsTinley Park, IL28,032Orland Park, IL: 27,806 personsOrland Park, IL27,806Oak Park, IL: 27,695 personsOak Park, IL27,695Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,480 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,480Normal, IL: 27,301 personsNormal, IL27,301Oak Lawn, IL: 27,173 personsOak Lawn, IL27,173Wheaton, IL: 26,586 personsWheaton, IL26,586Downers Grove, IL: 25,720 personsDowners Grove, IL25,720Lombard, IL: 23,685 personsLombard, IL23,685Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,142 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,142Bartlett, IL: 22,813 personsBartlett, IL22,813Glenview, IL: 22,546 personsGlenview, IL22,546Plainfield, IL: 22,109 personsPlainfield, IL22,109Romeoville, IL: 21,887 personsRomeoville, IL21,887Elmhurst, IL: 21,755 personsElmhurst, IL21,755Carol Stream, IL: 21,368 personsCarol Stream, IL21,368Crystal Lake, IL: 21,069 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,069Streamwood, IL: 21,056 personsStreamwood, IL21,056
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2017
persons		Change on 2016
1Chicago, IL1,359,947+0.4%
2Aurora, IL94,514-0.1%
3Naperville, IL73,574+0.7%
4Joliet, IL73,474+0.4%
5Rockford, IL64,898-1.6%
6Elgin, IL57,589-0.1%
7Springfield, IL53,280-1.7%
8Peoria, IL50,767-1.4%
9Waukegan, IL45,239+0.2%
10Champaign, IL42,155+0.6%
11Bloomington, IL41,085-0.5%
12Schaumburg, IL40,351-0.1%
13Cicero, IL39,877-0.3%
14Bolingbrook, IL39,124+1.2%
15Arlington Heights, IL39,041+0.2%
16Evanston, IL37,981-0.2%
17Palatine, IL36,853-0%
18Skokie, IL31,453-0.3%
19Decatur, IL30,569-0.9%
20Des Plaines, IL29,8640%
21Berwyn, IL29,155-0.3%
22Mount Prospect, IL29,054-0.2%
23Tinley Park, IL28,032-0.1%
24Orland Park, IL27,8060%
25Oak Park, IL27,695+0.8%
26Hoffman Estates, IL27,480-0.1%
27Normal, IL27,301-0.2%
28Oak Lawn, IL27,173-0.2%
29Wheaton, IL26,586+0.3%
30Downers Grove, IL25,720+0.4%
31Lombard, IL23,685+0.2%
32Buffalo Grove, IL23,142+0.2%
33Bartlett, IL22,813+0.1%
34Glenview, IL22,546+0.3%
35Plainfield, IL22,109+2.4%
36Romeoville, IL21,887+0.1%
37Elmhurst, IL21,755+0.7%
38Carol Stream, IL21,368+0.2%
39Crystal Lake, IL21,069+0.4%
40Streamwood, IL21,056-0.2%
41Wheeling, IL20,943+0.7%
42Belleville, IL20,623-0.1%
43Moline, IL20,545-0.5%
44DeKalb, IL20,132-0.2%
45Carpentersville, IL20,127-0.6%
46Quincy, IL19,828+0.7%
47Urbana, IL19,759-0.7%
48Park Ridge, IL19,430+0.1%
49Addison, IL19,374+0.1%
50Woodridge, IL18,404+0.7%
51Hanover Park, IL18,387-0.1%
52Glendale Heights, IL18,046+0.1%
53St. Charles, IL17,979-0.3%
54Rock Island, IL17,257-0.7%
55Mundelein, IL17,174+0.6%
56Oswego, IL17,139+1.5%
57Elk Grove Village, IL16,874-0.2%
58Gurnee, IL16,774+0.3%
59Algonquin, IL16,675+0.3%
60Northbrook, IL16,405+0.1%
61Calumet City, IL15,915-0.3%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,171+0.5%
63O'Fallon, IL14,749+0.8%
64Highland Park, IL14,606+1%
65Oak Forest, IL14,411-0.3%
66Pekin, IL14,406-0.8%
67McHenry, IL14,367+1.1%
68Round Lake Beach, IL14,169+0.3%
69Batavia, IL14,041+0.3%
70Lockport, IL13,864+1%
71Niles, IL13,806-0.2%
72Vernon Hills, IL13,804+0.5%
73Lansing, IL13,583-0.3%
74Glen Ellyn, IL13,509+0.2%
75Burbank, IL13,508-0.2%
76Woodstock, IL13,457+0.8%
77New Lenox, IL13,232+1.8%
78West Chicago, IL13,148+0.1%
79Collinsville, IL13,019+0.6%
80Belvidere, IL12,897-1.2%
81Edwardsville, IL12,794+0.3%
82Granite City, IL12,641-0.1%
83Zion, IL12,233+0.3%
84Galesburg, IL12,078-3.8%
85Melrose Park, IL12,040-0.3%
86Morton Grove, IL12,006-0.2%
87Westmont, IL11,994+0.2%
88Wilmette, IL11,982+0.7%
89Alton, IL11,924-0.1%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,844-0.3%
91Homer Glen, IL11,262+0.8%
92Huntley, IL11,024+2.4%
93Danville, IL10,937-2.3%
94Chicago Heights, IL10,843-0.4%
95Freeport, IL10,552+2.5%
96Park Forest, IL9,910-0.3%
97Carbondale, IL9,886-2.4%
98Kankakee, IL9,846+0.9%
99North Chicago, IL9,680+0.9%
100Maywood, IL9,273-0.4%
101Dolton, IL8,677-0.3%
102Harvey, IL8,130-0.5%
103East St. Louis, IL6,706-0.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents who did any work for pay or profit in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from a job, 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, whatever the place of work, and someone with two jobs counts once. 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. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2017 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. 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: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. 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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2017
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.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Illinois by employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

Chicago, IL, with 1.36 million in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,706 in 2017.

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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings