Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 104 cities in 2022, at 1.37 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,210. The median was 18,142. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,373,295Chicago, IL
Lowest6,210East St. Louis, IL
Median18,142104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2022

Chicago, IL: 1,373,295 personsChicago, IL1,373,295Aurora, IL: 92,133 personsAurora, IL92,133Naperville, IL: 77,189 personsNaperville, IL77,189Joliet, IL: 75,469 personsJoliet, IL75,469Rockford, IL: 61,736 personsRockford, IL61,736Elgin, IL: 55,602 personsElgin, IL55,602Springfield, IL: 51,657 personsSpringfield, IL51,657Peoria, IL: 48,616 personsPeoria, IL48,616Champaign, IL: 44,719 personsChampaign, IL44,719Waukegan, IL: 43,188 personsWaukegan, IL43,188Bloomington, IL: 40,901 personsBloomington, IL40,901Bolingbrook, IL: 40,302 personsBolingbrook, IL40,302Schaumburg, IL: 39,983 personsSchaumburg, IL39,983Cicero, IL: 38,992 personsCicero, IL38,992Arlington Heights, IL: 38,900 personsArlington Heights, IL38,900Evanston, IL: 37,591 personsEvanston, IL37,591Palatine, IL: 36,384 personsPalatine, IL36,384Skokie, IL: 31,160 personsSkokie, IL31,160Des Plaines, IL: 30,368 personsDes Plaines, IL30,368Mount Prospect, IL: 28,688 personsMount Prospect, IL28,688Berwyn, IL: 28,551 personsBerwyn, IL28,551Decatur, IL: 28,028 personsDecatur, IL28,028Orland Park, IL: 27,960 personsOrland Park, IL27,960Tinley Park, IL: 27,829 personsTinley Park, IL27,829Oak Park, IL: 27,826 personsOak Park, IL27,826Normal, IL: 27,490 personsNormal, IL27,490Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,295 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,295Wheaton, IL: 26,802 personsWheaton, IL26,802Oak Lawn, IL: 26,757 personsOak Lawn, IL26,757Downers Grove, IL: 26,015 personsDowners Grove, IL26,015Lombard, IL: 24,493 personsLombard, IL24,493Plainfield, IL: 23,977 personsPlainfield, IL23,977Romeoville, IL: 23,005 personsRomeoville, IL23,005Bartlett, IL: 22,868 personsBartlett, IL22,868Glenview, IL: 22,613 personsGlenview, IL22,613Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,525 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,525Elmhurst, IL: 22,457 personsElmhurst, IL22,457Crystal Lake, IL: 21,916 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,916Wheeling, IL: 21,451 personsWheeling, IL21,451Carol Stream, IL: 21,407 personsCarol Stream, IL21,407Chicago, IL: 1,373,295 personsChicago, IL1,373,295Aurora, IL: 92,133 personsAurora, IL92,133Naperville, IL: 77,189 personsNaperville, IL77,189Joliet, IL: 75,469 personsJoliet, IL75,469Rockford, IL: 61,736 personsRockford, IL61,736Elgin, IL: 55,602 personsElgin, IL55,602Springfield, IL: 51,657 personsSpringfield, IL51,657Peoria, IL: 48,616 personsPeoria, IL48,616Champaign, IL: 44,719 personsChampaign, IL44,719Waukegan, IL: 43,188 personsWaukegan, IL43,188Bloomington, IL: 40,901 personsBloomington, IL40,901Bolingbrook, IL: 40,302 personsBolingbrook, IL40,302Schaumburg, IL: 39,983 personsSchaumburg, IL39,983Cicero, IL: 38,992 personsCicero, IL38,992Arlington Heights, IL: 38,900 personsArlington Heights, IL38,900Evanston, IL: 37,591 personsEvanston, IL37,591Palatine, IL: 36,384 personsPalatine, IL36,384Skokie, IL: 31,160 personsSkokie, IL31,160Des Plaines, IL: 30,368 personsDes Plaines, IL30,368Mount Prospect, IL: 28,688 personsMount Prospect, IL28,688Berwyn, IL: 28,551 personsBerwyn, IL28,551Decatur, IL: 28,028 personsDecatur, IL28,028Orland Park, IL: 27,960 personsOrland Park, IL27,960Tinley Park, IL: 27,829 personsTinley Park, IL27,829Oak Park, IL: 27,826 personsOak Park, IL27,826Normal, IL: 27,490 personsNormal, IL27,490Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,295 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,295Wheaton, IL: 26,802 personsWheaton, IL26,802Oak Lawn, IL: 26,757 personsOak Lawn, IL26,757Downers Grove, IL: 26,015 personsDowners Grove, IL26,015Lombard, IL: 24,493 personsLombard, IL24,493Plainfield, IL: 23,977 personsPlainfield, IL23,977Romeoville, IL: 23,005 personsRomeoville, IL23,005Bartlett, IL: 22,868 personsBartlett, IL22,868Glenview, IL: 22,613 personsGlenview, IL22,613Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,525 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,525Elmhurst, IL: 22,457 personsElmhurst, IL22,457Crystal Lake, IL: 21,916 personsCrystal Lake, IL21,916Wheeling, IL: 21,451 personsWheeling, IL21,451Carol Stream, IL: 21,407 personsCarol Stream, IL21,407
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
persons		Change on 2021
1Chicago, IL1,373,295+4.7%
2Aurora, IL92,133+3.8%
3Naperville, IL77,189+6.3%
4Joliet, IL75,469+5.2%
5Rockford, IL61,736+1.7%
6Elgin, IL55,602+2.8%
7Springfield, IL51,657+2.3%
8Peoria, IL48,616+1.1%
9Champaign, IL44,719+2.2%
10Waukegan, IL43,188+0.1%
11Bloomington, IL40,901+4.8%
12Bolingbrook, IL40,302+6.4%
13Schaumburg, IL39,983+4.5%
14Cicero, IL38,992+4%
15Arlington Heights, IL38,900+4.5%
16Evanston, IL37,591+4.2%
17Palatine, IL36,384+4.2%
18Skokie, IL31,160+4.2%
19Des Plaines, IL30,368+4.2%
20Mount Prospect, IL28,688+4.2%
21Berwyn, IL28,551+4.1%
22Decatur, IL28,028+0.6%
23Orland Park, IL27,960+5%
24Tinley Park, IL27,829+4.5%
25Oak Park, IL27,826+4.2%
26Normal, IL27,490+4.8%
27Hoffman Estates, IL27,295+4.2%
28Wheaton, IL26,802+5.1%
29Oak Lawn, IL26,757+4.2%
30Downers Grove, IL26,015+5.2%
31Lombard, IL24,493+5.6%
32Plainfield, IL23,977+7.2%
33Romeoville, IL23,005+4.9%
34Bartlett, IL22,868+4.9%
35Glenview, IL22,613+4.6%
36Buffalo Grove, IL22,525+1.9%
37Elmhurst, IL22,457+5.5%
38Crystal Lake, IL21,916+6.1%
39Wheeling, IL21,451+4.2%
40Carol Stream, IL21,407+5%
41Streamwood, IL20,714+4.2%
42Urbana, IL19,985+1.7%
43Addison, IL19,558+5.2%
44Belleville, IL19,549-0.1%
45DeKalb, IL19,469+2.9%
46Moline, IL19,466+0.2%
47Park Ridge, IL19,252+4.3%
48Quincy, IL19,024+0.1%
49Carpentersville, IL18,893+1.9%
50Woodridge, IL18,773+5.2%
51Oswego, IL18,537+4.6%
52Hanover Park, IL18,239+4.6%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,044+5%
54St. Charles, IL17,591+2.2%
55Algonquin, IL17,129+4.9%
56Mundelein, IL16,843+1.1%
57Elk Grove Village, IL16,605+4.2%
58Northbrook, IL16,380+4.5%
59Rock Island, IL16,254+0.4%
60Gurnee, IL16,140+0.2%
61Calumet City, IL15,613+4.2%
62McHenry, IL15,610+8.2%
63Lake in the Hills, IL15,438+4.7%
64O'Fallon, IL14,730+0.7%
65Lockport, IL14,688+5.7%
66Highland Park, IL14,336+0.9%
67New Lenox, IL14,271+6.2%
68Oak Forest, IL14,164+4.2%
69Woodstock, IL13,966+5.3%
70Pekin, IL13,897+1%
71Vernon Hills, IL13,764+0.8%
72Batavia, IL13,687+2.5%
73Glen Ellyn, IL13,626+5.1%
74Niles, IL13,595+4.2%
75Round Lake Beach, IL13,548+0.2%
76Lansing, IL13,337+4.2%
77Burbank, IL13,330+4.3%
78West Chicago, IL13,192+5%
79Edwardsville, IL12,773+1%
80Collinsville, IL12,572+0.4%
81Yorkville, IL12,482+8.3%
82Belvidere, IL12,295+2.3%
83Granite City, IL12,172+0.4%
84Westmont, IL12,068+5.1%
85Wilmette, IL11,934+4.3%
86Morton Grove, IL11,879+4.2%
87Melrose Park, IL11,818+4.2%
88Huntley, IL11,761+6.2%
89Zion, IL11,688+0.2%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,640+4.1%
91Homer Glen, IL11,588+5.5%
92Alton, IL11,457+0.4%
93Chicago Heights, IL10,612+4.1%
94Galesburg, IL10,604-2%
95Danville, IL10,522+2%
96Freeport, IL10,094+0.4%
97Park Forest, IL9,748+4.3%
98Carbondale, IL9,528+1.6%
99North Chicago, IL9,345+0.3%
100Kankakee, IL9,271-0.1%
101Maywood, IL9,209+4.8%
102Dolton, IL8,501+4.2%
103Harvey, IL7,938+4.2%
104East St. Louis, IL6,210-0.3%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2022.
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 1.37 million in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,210 in 2022.

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