Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 103 cities in 2018, at 1.37 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,656. The median was 18,388. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,367,990Chicago, IL
Lowest6,656East St. Louis, IL
Median18,388103 cities

Top 40 cities, 2018

Chicago, IL: 1,367,990 personsChicago, IL1,367,990Aurora, IL: 94,895 personsAurora, IL94,895Naperville, IL: 74,382 personsNaperville, IL74,382Joliet, IL: 74,015 personsJoliet, IL74,015Rockford, IL: 66,494 personsRockford, IL66,494Elgin, IL: 57,923 personsElgin, IL57,923Springfield, IL: 53,014 personsSpringfield, IL53,014Peoria, IL: 51,137 personsPeoria, IL51,137Waukegan, IL: 45,544 personsWaukegan, IL45,544Champaign, IL: 42,704 personsChampaign, IL42,704Bloomington, IL: 40,706 personsBloomington, IL40,706Schaumburg, IL: 40,401 personsSchaumburg, IL40,401Cicero, IL: 39,828 personsCicero, IL39,828Bolingbrook, IL: 39,432 personsBolingbrook, IL39,432Arlington Heights, IL: 39,230 personsArlington Heights, IL39,230Evanston, IL: 38,037 personsEvanston, IL38,037Palatine, IL: 36,896 personsPalatine, IL36,896Skokie, IL: 31,440 personsSkokie, IL31,440Decatur, IL: 30,731 personsDecatur, IL30,731Des Plaines, IL: 30,535 personsDes Plaines, IL30,535Berwyn, IL: 29,122 personsBerwyn, IL29,122Mount Prospect, IL: 29,046 personsMount Prospect, IL29,046Tinley Park, IL: 28,065 personsTinley Park, IL28,065Oak Park, IL: 27,969 personsOak Park, IL27,969Orland Park, IL: 27,878 personsOrland Park, IL27,878Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,557 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,557Normal, IL: 27,255 personsNormal, IL27,255Oak Lawn, IL: 27,175 personsOak Lawn, IL27,175Wheaton, IL: 26,654 personsWheaton, IL26,654Downers Grove, IL: 25,808 personsDowners Grove, IL25,808Lombard, IL: 24,275 personsLombard, IL24,275Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,281 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,281Bartlett, IL: 22,868 personsBartlett, IL22,868Glenview, IL: 22,582 personsGlenview, IL22,582Plainfield, IL: 22,410 personsPlainfield, IL22,410Romeoville, IL: 22,025 personsRomeoville, IL22,025Elmhurst, IL: 21,866 personsElmhurst, IL21,866Carol Stream, IL: 21,381 personsCarol Stream, IL21,381Wheeling, IL: 21,323 personsWheeling, IL21,323Crystal Lake, IL: 21,171 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,171Chicago, IL: 1,367,990 personsChicago, IL1,367,990Aurora, IL: 94,895 personsAurora, IL94,895Naperville, IL: 74,382 personsNaperville, IL74,382Joliet, IL: 74,015 personsJoliet, IL74,015Rockford, IL: 66,494 personsRockford, IL66,494Elgin, IL: 57,923 personsElgin, IL57,923Springfield, IL: 53,014 personsSpringfield, IL53,014Peoria, IL: 51,137 personsPeoria, IL51,137Waukegan, IL: 45,544 personsWaukegan, IL45,544Champaign, IL: 42,704 personsChampaign, IL42,704Bloomington, IL: 40,706 personsBloomington, IL40,706Schaumburg, IL: 40,401 personsSchaumburg, IL40,401Cicero, IL: 39,828 personsCicero, IL39,828Bolingbrook, IL: 39,432 personsBolingbrook, IL39,432Arlington Heights, IL: 39,230 personsArlington Heights, IL39,230Evanston, IL: 38,037 personsEvanston, IL38,037Palatine, IL: 36,896 personsPalatine, IL36,896Skokie, IL: 31,440 personsSkokie, IL31,440Decatur, IL: 30,731 personsDecatur, IL30,731Des Plaines, IL: 30,535 personsDes Plaines, IL30,535Berwyn, IL: 29,122 personsBerwyn, IL29,122Mount Prospect, IL: 29,046 personsMount Prospect, IL29,046Tinley Park, IL: 28,065 personsTinley Park, IL28,065Oak Park, IL: 27,969 personsOak Park, IL27,969Orland Park, IL: 27,878 personsOrland Park, IL27,878Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,557 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,557Normal, IL: 27,255 personsNormal, IL27,255Oak Lawn, IL: 27,175 personsOak Lawn, IL27,175Wheaton, IL: 26,654 personsWheaton, IL26,654Downers Grove, IL: 25,808 personsDowners Grove, IL25,808Lombard, IL: 24,275 personsLombard, IL24,275Buffalo Grove, IL: 23,281 personsBuffalo Grove, IL23,281Bartlett, IL: 22,868 personsBartlett, IL22,868Glenview, IL: 22,582 personsGlenview, IL22,582Plainfield, IL: 22,410 personsPlainfield, IL22,410Romeoville, IL: 22,025 personsRomeoville, IL22,025Elmhurst, IL: 21,866 personsElmhurst, IL21,866Carol Stream, IL: 21,381 personsCarol Stream, IL21,381Wheeling, IL: 21,323 personsWheeling, IL21,323Crystal Lake, IL: 21,171 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,171
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2018
persons		Change on 2017
1Chicago, IL1,367,990+0.6%
2Aurora, IL94,895+0.4%
3Naperville, IL74,382+1.1%
4Joliet, IL74,015+0.7%
5Rockford, IL66,494+2.5%
6Elgin, IL57,923+0.6%
7Springfield, IL53,014-0.5%
8Peoria, IL51,137+0.7%
9Waukegan, IL45,544+0.7%
10Champaign, IL42,704+1.3%
11Bloomington, IL40,706-0.9%
12Schaumburg, IL40,401+0.1%
13Cicero, IL39,828-0.1%
14Bolingbrook, IL39,432+0.8%
15Arlington Heights, IL39,230+0.5%
16Evanston, IL38,037+0.1%
17Palatine, IL36,896+0.1%
18Skokie, IL31,440-0%
19Decatur, IL30,731+0.5%
20Des Plaines, IL30,535+2.2%
21Berwyn, IL29,122-0.1%
22Mount Prospect, IL29,046-0%
23Tinley Park, IL28,065+0.1%
24Oak Park, IL27,969+1%
25Orland Park, IL27,878+0.3%
26Hoffman Estates, IL27,557+0.3%
27Normal, IL27,255-0.2%
28Oak Lawn, IL27,1750%
29Wheaton, IL26,654+0.3%
30Downers Grove, IL25,808+0.3%
31Lombard, IL24,275+2.5%
32Buffalo Grove, IL23,281+0.6%
33Bartlett, IL22,868+0.2%
34Glenview, IL22,582+0.2%
35Plainfield, IL22,410+1.4%
36Romeoville, IL22,025+0.6%
37Elmhurst, IL21,866+0.5%
38Carol Stream, IL21,381+0.1%
39Wheeling, IL21,323+1.8%
40Crystal Lake, IL21,171+0.5%
41Streamwood, IL21,050-0%
42Moline, IL20,608+0.3%
43Belleville, IL20,594-0.1%
44DeKalb, IL20,257+0.6%
45Carpentersville, IL20,183+0.3%
46Quincy, IL20,142+1.6%
47Urbana, IL19,833+0.4%
48Park Ridge, IL19,496+0.3%
49Addison, IL19,396+0.1%
50Woodridge, IL18,503+0.5%
51St. Charles, IL18,393+2.3%
52Hanover Park, IL18,3880%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,0490%
54Oswego, IL17,569+2.5%
55Mundelein, IL17,383+1.2%
56Rock Island, IL17,276+0.1%
57Gurnee, IL16,955+1.1%
58Elk Grove Village, IL16,869-0%
59Algonquin, IL16,791+0.7%
60Northbrook, IL16,458+0.3%
61Calumet City, IL15,900-0.1%
62Lake in the Hills, IL15,269+0.6%
63O'Fallon, IL14,956+1.4%
64Highland Park, IL14,783+1.2%
65McHenry, IL14,569+1.4%
66Pekin, IL14,474+0.5%
67Oak Forest, IL14,405-0%
68Round Lake Beach, IL14,267+0.7%
69Vernon Hills, IL14,243+3.2%
70Batavia, IL14,099+0.4%
71Lockport, IL14,030+1.2%
72Niles, IL13,805-0%
73Woodstock, IL13,577+0.9%
74Lansing, IL13,576-0.1%
75Glen Ellyn, IL13,537+0.2%
76Burbank, IL13,520+0.1%
77New Lenox, IL13,464+1.8%
78Belvidere, IL13,219+2.5%
79West Chicago, IL13,1510%
80Collinsville, IL13,026+0.1%
81Edwardsville, IL12,850+0.4%
82Granite City, IL12,6450%
83Zion, IL12,320+0.7%
84Wilmette, IL12,037+0.5%
85Morton Grove, IL12,034+0.2%
86Melrose Park, IL12,029-0.1%
87Westmont, IL12,017+0.2%
88Alton, IL11,919-0%
89Galesburg, IL11,862-1.8%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,829-0.1%
91Homer Glen, IL11,353+0.8%
92Huntley, IL11,262+2.2%
93Chicago Heights, IL10,824-0.2%
94Danville, IL10,807-1.2%
95Freeport, IL10,797+2.3%
96Kankakee, IL9,968+1.2%
97Park Forest, IL9,902-0.1%
98Carbondale, IL9,827-0.6%
99North Chicago, IL9,816+1.4%
100Maywood, IL9,258-0.2%
101Dolton, IL8,663-0.2%
102Harvey, IL8,105-0.3%
103East St. Louis, IL6,656-0.7%

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 2018 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2018.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Illinois by employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employed_residents","level":"municipality","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employed_residents&level=municipality&within=Illinois&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

Chicago, IL, with 1.37 million in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,656 in 2018.

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 2018 and are not ranked.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings