Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 104 cities in 2020, at 1.25 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,067. The median was 16,623. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,249,038Chicago, IL
Lowest6,067East St. Louis, IL
Median16,623104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Chicago, IL: 1,249,038 personsChicago, IL1,249,038Aurora, IL: 85,360 personsAurora, IL85,360Naperville, IL: 68,189 personsNaperville, IL68,189Joliet, IL: 67,410 personsJoliet, IL67,410Rockford, IL: 59,547 personsRockford, IL59,547Elgin, IL: 52,250 personsElgin, IL52,250Springfield, IL: 48,357 personsSpringfield, IL48,357Peoria, IL: 46,798 personsPeoria, IL46,798Waukegan, IL: 41,960 personsWaukegan, IL41,960Champaign, IL: 41,959 personsChampaign, IL41,959Bloomington, IL: 37,615 personsBloomington, IL37,615Schaumburg, IL: 36,529 personsSchaumburg, IL36,529Cicero, IL: 35,888 personsCicero, IL35,888Bolingbrook, IL: 35,666 personsBolingbrook, IL35,666Arlington Heights, IL: 35,569 personsArlington Heights, IL35,569Evanston, IL: 34,401 personsEvanston, IL34,401Palatine, IL: 33,390 personsPalatine, IL33,390Skokie, IL: 28,597 personsSkokie, IL28,597Des Plaines, IL: 27,829 personsDes Plaines, IL27,829Decatur, IL: 27,577 personsDecatur, IL27,577Mount Prospect, IL: 26,338 personsMount Prospect, IL26,338Berwyn, IL: 26,263 personsBerwyn, IL26,263Oak Park, IL: 25,568 personsOak Park, IL25,568Tinley Park, IL: 25,406 personsTinley Park, IL25,406Normal, IL: 25,298 personsNormal, IL25,298Orland Park, IL: 25,285 personsOrland Park, IL25,285Hoffman Estates, IL: 25,051 personsHoffman Estates, IL25,051Oak Lawn, IL: 24,550 personsOak Lawn, IL24,550Wheaton, IL: 24,110 personsWheaton, IL24,110Downers Grove, IL: 23,403 personsDowners Grove, IL23,403Lombard, IL: 21,956 personsLombard, IL21,956Buffalo Grove, IL: 21,332 personsBuffalo Grove, IL21,332Plainfield, IL: 20,765 personsPlainfield, IL20,765Bartlett, IL: 20,706 personsBartlett, IL20,706Glenview, IL: 20,627 personsGlenview, IL20,627Romeoville, IL: 20,295 personsRomeoville, IL20,295Elmhurst, IL: 20,093 personsElmhurst, IL20,093Wheeling, IL: 19,675 personsWheeling, IL19,675Carol Stream, IL: 19,307 personsCarol Stream, IL19,307Crystal Lake, IL: 19,273 personsCrystal Lake, IL19,273Chicago, IL: 1,249,038 personsChicago, IL1,249,038Aurora, IL: 85,360 personsAurora, IL85,360Naperville, IL: 68,189 personsNaperville, IL68,189Joliet, IL: 67,410 personsJoliet, IL67,410Rockford, IL: 59,547 personsRockford, IL59,547Elgin, IL: 52,250 personsElgin, IL52,250Springfield, IL: 48,357 personsSpringfield, IL48,357Peoria, IL: 46,798 personsPeoria, IL46,798Waukegan, IL: 41,960 personsWaukegan, IL41,960Champaign, IL: 41,959 personsChampaign, IL41,959Bloomington, IL: 37,615 personsBloomington, IL37,615Schaumburg, IL: 36,529 personsSchaumburg, IL36,529Cicero, IL: 35,888 personsCicero, IL35,888Bolingbrook, IL: 35,666 personsBolingbrook, IL35,666Arlington Heights, IL: 35,569 personsArlington Heights, IL35,569Evanston, IL: 34,401 personsEvanston, IL34,401Palatine, IL: 33,390 personsPalatine, IL33,390Skokie, IL: 28,597 personsSkokie, IL28,597Des Plaines, IL: 27,829 personsDes Plaines, IL27,829Decatur, IL: 27,577 personsDecatur, IL27,577Mount Prospect, IL: 26,338 personsMount Prospect, IL26,338Berwyn, IL: 26,263 personsBerwyn, IL26,263Oak Park, IL: 25,568 personsOak Park, IL25,568Tinley Park, IL: 25,406 personsTinley Park, IL25,406Normal, IL: 25,298 personsNormal, IL25,298Orland Park, IL: 25,285 personsOrland Park, IL25,285Hoffman Estates, IL: 25,051 personsHoffman Estates, IL25,051Oak Lawn, IL: 24,550 personsOak Lawn, IL24,550Wheaton, IL: 24,110 personsWheaton, IL24,110Downers Grove, IL: 23,403 personsDowners Grove, IL23,403Lombard, IL: 21,956 personsLombard, IL21,956Buffalo Grove, IL: 21,332 personsBuffalo Grove, IL21,332Plainfield, IL: 20,765 personsPlainfield, IL20,765Bartlett, IL: 20,706 personsBartlett, IL20,706Glenview, IL: 20,627 personsGlenview, IL20,627Romeoville, IL: 20,295 personsRomeoville, IL20,295Elmhurst, IL: 20,093 personsElmhurst, IL20,093Wheeling, IL: 19,675 personsWheeling, IL19,675Carol Stream, IL: 19,307 personsCarol Stream, IL19,307Crystal Lake, IL: 19,273 personsCrystal Lake, IL19,273
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Chicago, IL1,249,038-9.2%
2Aurora, IL85,360-9.6%
3Naperville, IL68,189-9.2%
4Joliet, IL67,410-9.3%
5Rockford, IL59,547-9.4%
6Elgin, IL52,250-9.5%
7Springfield, IL48,357-7.8%
8Peoria, IL46,798-7.7%
9Waukegan, IL41,960-8.3%
10Champaign, IL41,959-4.3%
11Bloomington, IL37,615-7.2%
12Schaumburg, IL36,529-9.7%
13Cicero, IL35,888-9.9%
14Bolingbrook, IL35,666-9.5%
15Arlington Heights, IL35,569-9.6%
16Evanston, IL34,401-9.7%
17Palatine, IL33,390-9.6%
18Skokie, IL28,597-9.1%
19Des Plaines, IL27,829-9.7%
20Decatur, IL27,577-8.5%
21Mount Prospect, IL26,338-9.4%
22Berwyn, IL26,263-9.9%
23Oak Park, IL25,568-9.7%
24Tinley Park, IL25,406-9.7%
25Normal, IL25,298-7.1%
26Orland Park, IL25,285-9.5%
27Hoffman Estates, IL25,051-9.5%
28Oak Lawn, IL24,550-9.8%
29Wheaton, IL24,110-9.6%
30Downers Grove, IL23,403-9.5%
31Lombard, IL21,956-9.6%
32Buffalo Grove, IL21,332-8.8%
33Plainfield, IL20,765-8.4%
34Bartlett, IL20,706-9.6%
35Glenview, IL20,627-9.7%
36Romeoville, IL20,295-8.9%
37Elmhurst, IL20,093-9.3%
38Wheeling, IL19,675-8%
39Carol Stream, IL19,307-9.6%
40Crystal Lake, IL19,273-9.2%
41Belleville, IL19,033-7.5%
42Streamwood, IL19,009-9.8%
43Moline, IL18,927-8.3%
44Urbana, IL18,822-6%
45Quincy, IL18,584-6.6%
46DeKalb, IL18,280-10%
47Carpentersville, IL18,035-9.8%
48Park Ridge, IL17,643-9.7%
49Addison, IL17,574-9.5%
50Woodridge, IL16,882-9.2%
51Oswego, IL16,852-7.6%
52St. Charles, IL16,644-9.5%
53Hanover Park, IL16,602-9.7%
54Glendale Heights, IL16,283-9.7%
55Mundelein, IL16,115-8%
56Rock Island, IL15,809-8.5%
57Gurnee, IL15,657-8.3%
58Algonquin, IL15,310-9.4%
59Elk Grove Village, IL15,229-9.8%
60Northbrook, IL14,942-9.5%
61Calumet City, IL14,340-9.9%
62O'Fallon, IL14,086-6.8%
63Lake in the Hills, IL13,826-9.7%
64Highland Park, IL13,747-8%
65McHenry, IL13,427-8.6%
66Pekin, IL13,364-7%
67Vernon Hills, IL13,232-8%
68Round Lake Beach, IL13,149-8.3%
69Lockport, IL13,064-8.1%
70Oak Forest, IL13,007-9.8%
71Batavia, IL12,900-9%
72New Lenox, IL12,508-8.4%
73Niles, IL12,473-9.8%
74Woodstock, IL12,384-9.3%
75Glen Ellyn, IL12,269-9.5%
76Lansing, IL12,251-9.8%
77Burbank, IL12,216-9.8%
78Edwardsville, IL12,214-7%
79Collinsville, IL12,137-7.3%
80West Chicago, IL11,866-9.7%
81Belvidere, IL11,782-10%
82Granite City, IL11,749-7.3%
83Zion, IL11,352-8.3%
84Alton, IL11,066-7.4%
85Wilmette, IL10,914-9.6%
86Morton Grove, IL10,913-9.7%
87Galesburg, IL10,875-7%
88Westmont, IL10,869-9.6%
89Melrose Park, IL10,852-9.9%
90Elmwood Park, IL10,696-9.9%
91Yorkville, IL10,673n/a
92Homer Glen, IL10,307-9.6%
93Huntley, IL10,306-8.6%
94Danville, IL10,099-6.2%
95Freeport, IL9,961-6.6%
96Chicago Heights, IL9,749-9.9%
97Kankakee, IL9,296-8.1%
98Carbondale, IL9,196-7%
99North Chicago, IL9,067-8.2%
100Park Forest, IL8,921-9.9%
101Maywood, IL8,350-9.9%
102Dolton, IL7,808-9.9%
103Harvey, IL7,288-10%
104East St. Louis, IL6,067-8.1%

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. 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.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: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2020) [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: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2020. 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/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020. 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, 2020. 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/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020. 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.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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Illinois by employed residents, 2020
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/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2020.
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.CurrentU20-24. 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 1.25 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,067 in 2020.

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.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings