Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 104 cities in 2021, at 1.31 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,230. The median was 17,326. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,311,429Chicago, IL
Lowest6,230East St. Louis, IL
Median17,326104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Chicago, IL: 1,311,429 personsChicago, IL1,311,429Aurora, IL: 88,755 personsAurora, IL88,755Naperville, IL: 72,633 personsNaperville, IL72,633Joliet, IL: 71,709 personsJoliet, IL71,709Rockford, IL: 60,686 personsRockford, IL60,686Elgin, IL: 54,071 personsElgin, IL54,071Springfield, IL: 50,511 personsSpringfield, IL50,511Peoria, IL: 48,071 personsPeoria, IL48,071Champaign, IL: 43,764 personsChampaign, IL43,764Waukegan, IL: 43,126 personsWaukegan, IL43,126Bloomington, IL: 39,045 personsBloomington, IL39,045Schaumburg, IL: 38,248 personsSchaumburg, IL38,248Bolingbrook, IL: 37,889 personsBolingbrook, IL37,889Cicero, IL: 37,475 personsCicero, IL37,475Arlington Heights, IL: 37,227 personsArlington Heights, IL37,227Evanston, IL: 36,066 personsEvanston, IL36,066Palatine, IL: 34,914 personsPalatine, IL34,914Skokie, IL: 29,907 personsSkokie, IL29,907Des Plaines, IL: 29,138 personsDes Plaines, IL29,138Decatur, IL: 27,848 personsDecatur, IL27,848Mount Prospect, IL: 27,530 personsMount Prospect, IL27,530Berwyn, IL: 27,425 personsBerwyn, IL27,425Oak Park, IL: 26,697 personsOak Park, IL26,697Orland Park, IL: 26,639 personsOrland Park, IL26,639Tinley Park, IL: 26,634 personsTinley Park, IL26,634Normal, IL: 26,243 personsNormal, IL26,243Hoffman Estates, IL: 26,194 personsHoffman Estates, IL26,194Oak Lawn, IL: 25,675 personsOak Lawn, IL25,675Wheaton, IL: 25,493 personsWheaton, IL25,493Downers Grove, IL: 24,736 personsDowners Grove, IL24,736Lombard, IL: 23,187 personsLombard, IL23,187Plainfield, IL: 22,367 personsPlainfield, IL22,367Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,102 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,102Romeoville, IL: 21,932 personsRomeoville, IL21,932Bartlett, IL: 21,802 personsBartlett, IL21,802Glenview, IL: 21,627 personsGlenview, IL21,627Elmhurst, IL: 21,285 personsElmhurst, IL21,285Crystal Lake, IL: 20,650 personsCrystal Lake, IL20,650Wheeling, IL: 20,578 personsWheeling, IL20,578Carol Stream, IL: 20,384 personsCarol Stream, IL20,384Chicago, IL: 1,311,429 personsChicago, IL1,311,429Aurora, IL: 88,755 personsAurora, IL88,755Naperville, IL: 72,633 personsNaperville, IL72,633Joliet, IL: 71,709 personsJoliet, IL71,709Rockford, IL: 60,686 personsRockford, IL60,686Elgin, IL: 54,071 personsElgin, IL54,071Springfield, IL: 50,511 personsSpringfield, IL50,511Peoria, IL: 48,071 personsPeoria, IL48,071Champaign, IL: 43,764 personsChampaign, IL43,764Waukegan, IL: 43,126 personsWaukegan, IL43,126Bloomington, IL: 39,045 personsBloomington, IL39,045Schaumburg, IL: 38,248 personsSchaumburg, IL38,248Bolingbrook, IL: 37,889 personsBolingbrook, IL37,889Cicero, IL: 37,475 personsCicero, IL37,475Arlington Heights, IL: 37,227 personsArlington Heights, IL37,227Evanston, IL: 36,066 personsEvanston, IL36,066Palatine, IL: 34,914 personsPalatine, IL34,914Skokie, IL: 29,907 personsSkokie, IL29,907Des Plaines, IL: 29,138 personsDes Plaines, IL29,138Decatur, IL: 27,848 personsDecatur, IL27,848Mount Prospect, IL: 27,530 personsMount Prospect, IL27,530Berwyn, IL: 27,425 personsBerwyn, IL27,425Oak Park, IL: 26,697 personsOak Park, IL26,697Orland Park, IL: 26,639 personsOrland Park, IL26,639Tinley Park, IL: 26,634 personsTinley Park, IL26,634Normal, IL: 26,243 personsNormal, IL26,243Hoffman Estates, IL: 26,194 personsHoffman Estates, IL26,194Oak Lawn, IL: 25,675 personsOak Lawn, IL25,675Wheaton, IL: 25,493 personsWheaton, IL25,493Downers Grove, IL: 24,736 personsDowners Grove, IL24,736Lombard, IL: 23,187 personsLombard, IL23,187Plainfield, IL: 22,367 personsPlainfield, IL22,367Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,102 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,102Romeoville, IL: 21,932 personsRomeoville, IL21,932Bartlett, IL: 21,802 personsBartlett, IL21,802Glenview, IL: 21,627 personsGlenview, IL21,627Elmhurst, IL: 21,285 personsElmhurst, IL21,285Crystal Lake, IL: 20,650 personsCrystal Lake, IL20,650Wheeling, IL: 20,578 personsWheeling, IL20,578Carol Stream, IL: 20,384 personsCarol Stream, IL20,384
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Chicago, IL1,311,429+5%
2Aurora, IL88,755+4%
3Naperville, IL72,633+6.5%
4Joliet, IL71,709+6.4%
5Rockford, IL60,686+1.9%
6Elgin, IL54,071+3.5%
7Springfield, IL50,511+4.5%
8Peoria, IL48,071+2.7%
9Champaign, IL43,764+4.3%
10Waukegan, IL43,126+2.8%
11Bloomington, IL39,045+3.8%
12Schaumburg, IL38,248+4.7%
13Bolingbrook, IL37,889+6.2%
14Cicero, IL37,475+4.4%
15Arlington Heights, IL37,227+4.7%
16Evanston, IL36,066+4.8%
17Palatine, IL34,914+4.6%
18Skokie, IL29,907+4.6%
19Des Plaines, IL29,138+4.7%
20Decatur, IL27,848+1%
21Mount Prospect, IL27,530+4.5%
22Berwyn, IL27,425+4.4%
23Oak Park, IL26,697+4.4%
24Orland Park, IL26,639+5.4%
25Tinley Park, IL26,634+4.8%
26Normal, IL26,243+3.7%
27Hoffman Estates, IL26,194+4.6%
28Oak Lawn, IL25,675+4.6%
29Wheaton, IL25,493+5.7%
30Downers Grove, IL24,736+5.7%
31Lombard, IL23,187+5.6%
32Plainfield, IL22,367+7.7%
33Buffalo Grove, IL22,102+3.6%
34Romeoville, IL21,932+8.1%
35Bartlett, IL21,802+5.3%
36Glenview, IL21,627+4.8%
37Elmhurst, IL21,285+5.9%
38Crystal Lake, IL20,650+7.1%
39Wheeling, IL20,578+4.6%
40Carol Stream, IL20,384+5.6%
41Streamwood, IL19,877+4.6%
42Urbana, IL19,644+4.4%
43Belleville, IL19,568+2.8%
44Moline, IL19,419+2.6%
45Quincy, IL19,008+2.3%
46DeKalb, IL18,917+3.5%
47Addison, IL18,583+5.7%
48Carpentersville, IL18,535+2.8%
49Park Ridge, IL18,459+4.6%
50Woodridge, IL17,849+5.7%
51Oswego, IL17,718+5.1%
52Hanover Park, IL17,438+5%
53St. Charles, IL17,214+3.4%
54Glendale Heights, IL17,185+5.5%
55Mundelein, IL16,661+3.4%
56Algonquin, IL16,328+6.6%
57Rock Island, IL16,196+2.4%
58Gurnee, IL16,107+2.9%
59Elk Grove Village, IL15,931+4.6%
60Northbrook, IL15,669+4.9%
61Calumet City, IL14,989+4.5%
62Lake in the Hills, IL14,743+6.6%
63O'Fallon, IL14,622+3.8%
64McHenry, IL14,431+7.5%
65Highland Park, IL14,210+3.4%
66Lockport, IL13,901+6.4%
67Pekin, IL13,759+3%
68Vernon Hills, IL13,648+3.1%
69Oak Forest, IL13,596+4.5%
70Round Lake Beach, IL13,522+2.8%
71New Lenox, IL13,436+7.4%
72Batavia, IL13,347+3.5%
73Woodstock, IL13,264+7.1%
74Niles, IL13,044+4.6%
75Glen Ellyn, IL12,965+5.7%
76Lansing, IL12,804+4.5%
77Burbank, IL12,784+4.6%
78Edwardsville, IL12,648+3.6%
79West Chicago, IL12,563+5.9%
80Collinsville, IL12,523+3.2%
81Granite City, IL12,123+3.2%
82Belvidere, IL12,014+2%
83Zion, IL11,669+2.8%
84Yorkville, IL11,529+8%
85Westmont, IL11,486+5.7%
86Wilmette, IL11,442+4.8%
87Alton, IL11,415+3.2%
88Morton Grove, IL11,405+4.5%
89Melrose Park, IL11,342+4.5%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,178+4.5%
91Huntley, IL11,073+7.4%
92Homer Glen, IL10,989+6.6%
93Galesburg, IL10,816-0.5%
94Danville, IL10,311+2.1%
95Chicago Heights, IL10,190+4.5%
96Freeport, IL10,058+1%
97Carbondale, IL9,375+1.9%
98Park Forest, IL9,350+4.8%
99North Chicago, IL9,320+2.8%
100Kankakee, IL9,282-0.2%
101Maywood, IL8,791+5.3%
102Dolton, IL8,161+4.5%
103Harvey, IL7,619+4.5%
104East St. Louis, IL6,230+2.7%

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. 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2021.
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 1.31 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,230 in 2021.

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