Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 104 cities in 2023, at 1.39 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,199. The median was 18,282. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,390,493Chicago, IL
Lowest6,199East St. Louis, IL
Median18,282104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2023

Chicago, IL: 1,390,493 personsChicago, IL1,390,493Aurora, IL: 92,875 personsAurora, IL92,875Naperville, IL: 78,173 personsNaperville, IL78,173Joliet, IL: 76,320 personsJoliet, IL76,320Rockford, IL: 61,538 personsRockford, IL61,538Elgin, IL: 56,116 personsElgin, IL56,116Springfield, IL: 51,693 personsSpringfield, IL51,693Peoria, IL: 49,144 personsPeoria, IL49,144Champaign, IL: 45,137 personsChampaign, IL45,137Waukegan, IL: 43,180 personsWaukegan, IL43,180Bloomington, IL: 42,172 personsBloomington, IL42,172Bolingbrook, IL: 40,707 personsBolingbrook, IL40,707Schaumburg, IL: 40,270 personsSchaumburg, IL40,270Cicero, IL: 39,082 personsCicero, IL39,082Arlington Heights, IL: 39,059 personsArlington Heights, IL39,059Evanston, IL: 37,847 personsEvanston, IL37,847Palatine, IL: 36,529 personsPalatine, IL36,529Skokie, IL: 31,313 personsSkokie, IL31,313Des Plaines, IL: 30,472 personsDes Plaines, IL30,472Mount Prospect, IL: 28,792 personsMount Prospect, IL28,792Berwyn, IL: 28,620 personsBerwyn, IL28,620Normal, IL: 28,317 personsNormal, IL28,317Orland Park, IL: 28,126 personsOrland Park, IL28,126Tinley Park, IL: 27,980 personsTinley Park, IL27,980Oak Park, IL: 27,940 personsOak Park, IL27,940Decatur, IL: 27,752 personsDecatur, IL27,752Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,389 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,389Wheaton, IL: 27,073 personsWheaton, IL27,073Oak Lawn, IL: 26,855 personsOak Lawn, IL26,855Downers Grove, IL: 26,497 personsDowners Grove, IL26,497Plainfield, IL: 24,806 personsPlainfield, IL24,806Lombard, IL: 24,722 personsLombard, IL24,722Romeoville, IL: 23,164 personsRomeoville, IL23,164Bartlett, IL: 23,054 personsBartlett, IL23,054Elmhurst, IL: 22,743 personsElmhurst, IL22,743Glenview, IL: 22,741 personsGlenview, IL22,741Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,635 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,635Crystal Lake, IL: 22,225 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,225Wheeling, IL: 21,617 personsWheeling, IL21,617Carol Stream, IL: 21,601 personsCarol Stream, IL21,601Chicago, IL: 1,390,493 personsChicago, IL1,390,493Aurora, IL: 92,875 personsAurora, IL92,875Naperville, IL: 78,173 personsNaperville, IL78,173Joliet, IL: 76,320 personsJoliet, IL76,320Rockford, IL: 61,538 personsRockford, IL61,538Elgin, IL: 56,116 personsElgin, IL56,116Springfield, IL: 51,693 personsSpringfield, IL51,693Peoria, IL: 49,144 personsPeoria, IL49,144Champaign, IL: 45,137 personsChampaign, IL45,137Waukegan, IL: 43,180 personsWaukegan, IL43,180Bloomington, IL: 42,172 personsBloomington, IL42,172Bolingbrook, IL: 40,707 personsBolingbrook, IL40,707Schaumburg, IL: 40,270 personsSchaumburg, IL40,270Cicero, IL: 39,082 personsCicero, IL39,082Arlington Heights, IL: 39,059 personsArlington Heights, IL39,059Evanston, IL: 37,847 personsEvanston, IL37,847Palatine, IL: 36,529 personsPalatine, IL36,529Skokie, IL: 31,313 personsSkokie, IL31,313Des Plaines, IL: 30,472 personsDes Plaines, IL30,472Mount Prospect, IL: 28,792 personsMount Prospect, IL28,792Berwyn, IL: 28,620 personsBerwyn, IL28,620Normal, IL: 28,317 personsNormal, IL28,317Orland Park, IL: 28,126 personsOrland Park, IL28,126Tinley Park, IL: 27,980 personsTinley Park, IL27,980Oak Park, IL: 27,940 personsOak Park, IL27,940Decatur, IL: 27,752 personsDecatur, IL27,752Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,389 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,389Wheaton, IL: 27,073 personsWheaton, IL27,073Oak Lawn, IL: 26,855 personsOak Lawn, IL26,855Downers Grove, IL: 26,497 personsDowners Grove, IL26,497Plainfield, IL: 24,806 personsPlainfield, IL24,806Lombard, IL: 24,722 personsLombard, IL24,722Romeoville, IL: 23,164 personsRomeoville, IL23,164Bartlett, IL: 23,054 personsBartlett, IL23,054Elmhurst, IL: 22,743 personsElmhurst, IL22,743Glenview, IL: 22,741 personsGlenview, IL22,741Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,635 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,635Crystal Lake, IL: 22,225 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,225Wheeling, IL: 21,617 personsWheeling, IL21,617Carol Stream, IL: 21,601 personsCarol Stream, IL21,601
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Chicago, IL1,390,493+1.3%
2Aurora, IL92,875+0.8%
3Naperville, IL78,173+1.3%
4Joliet, IL76,320+1.1%
5Rockford, IL61,538-0.3%
6Elgin, IL56,116+0.9%
7Springfield, IL51,693+0.1%
8Peoria, IL49,144+1.1%
9Champaign, IL45,137+0.9%
10Waukegan, IL43,180-0%
11Bloomington, IL42,172+3.1%
12Bolingbrook, IL40,707+1%
13Schaumburg, IL40,270+0.7%
14Cicero, IL39,082+0.2%
15Arlington Heights, IL39,059+0.4%
16Evanston, IL37,847+0.7%
17Palatine, IL36,529+0.4%
18Skokie, IL31,313+0.5%
19Des Plaines, IL30,472+0.3%
20Mount Prospect, IL28,792+0.4%
21Berwyn, IL28,620+0.2%
22Normal, IL28,317+3%
23Orland Park, IL28,126+0.6%
24Tinley Park, IL27,980+0.5%
25Oak Park, IL27,940+0.4%
26Decatur, IL27,752-1%
27Hoffman Estates, IL27,389+0.3%
28Wheaton, IL27,073+1%
29Oak Lawn, IL26,855+0.4%
30Downers Grove, IL26,497+1.9%
31Plainfield, IL24,806+3.5%
32Lombard, IL24,722+0.9%
33Romeoville, IL23,164+0.7%
34Bartlett, IL23,054+0.8%
35Elmhurst, IL22,743+1.3%
36Glenview, IL22,741+0.6%
37Buffalo Grove, IL22,635+0.5%
38Crystal Lake, IL22,225+1.4%
39Wheeling, IL21,617+0.8%
40Carol Stream, IL21,601+0.9%
41Streamwood, IL20,791+0.4%
42Urbana, IL20,026+0.2%
43Addison, IL19,800+1.2%
44DeKalb, IL19,559+0.5%
45Belleville, IL19,535-0.1%
46Moline, IL19,496+0.2%
47Park Ridge, IL19,320+0.4%
48Oswego, IL19,196+3.6%
49Quincy, IL19,181+0.8%
50Woodridge, IL18,974+1.1%
51Carpentersville, IL18,920+0.1%
52Hanover Park, IL18,359+0.7%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,205+0.9%
54St. Charles, IL17,661+0.4%
55Algonquin, IL17,379+1.5%
56Mundelein, IL17,000+0.9%
57Elk Grove Village, IL16,664+0.4%
58Northbrook, IL16,504+0.8%
59Rock Island, IL16,244-0.1%
60Gurnee, IL16,138-0%
61McHenry, IL15,750+0.9%
62Calumet City, IL15,667+0.3%
63Lake in the Hills, IL15,554+0.8%
64Lockport, IL15,074+2.6%
65O'Fallon, IL14,849+0.8%
66New Lenox, IL14,634+2.5%
67Highland Park, IL14,439+0.7%
68Oak Forest, IL14,214+0.4%
69Woodstock, IL14,114+1.1%
70Pekin, IL14,016+0.9%
71Batavia, IL13,787+0.7%
72Vernon Hills, IL13,773+0.1%
73Glen Ellyn, IL13,758+1%
74Niles, IL13,641+0.3%
75Round Lake Beach, IL13,5480%
76Burbank, IL13,385+0.4%
77Lansing, IL13,380+0.3%
78West Chicago, IL13,312+0.9%
79Yorkville, IL12,956+3.8%
80Edwardsville, IL12,941+1.3%
81Collinsville, IL12,623+0.4%
82Belvidere, IL12,370+0.6%
83Granite City, IL12,223+0.4%
84Westmont, IL12,182+0.9%
85Wilmette, IL11,991+0.5%
86Huntley, IL11,936+1.5%
87Morton Grove, IL11,921+0.4%
88Melrose Park, IL11,863+0.4%
89Homer Glen, IL11,739+1.3%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,681+0.4%
90Zion, IL11,681-0.1%
92Alton, IL11,499+0.4%
93Galesburg, IL10,937+3.1%
94Chicago Heights, IL10,641+0.3%
95Danville, IL10,296-2.1%
96Freeport, IL10,215+1.2%
97Park Forest, IL9,782+0.3%
98Carbondale, IL9,371-1.6%
99North Chicago, IL9,335-0.1%
100Maywood, IL9,312+1.1%
101Kankakee, IL9,263-0.1%
102Dolton, IL8,527+0.3%
103Harvey, IL7,966+0.4%
104East St. Louis, IL6,199-0.2%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2023.
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 1.39 million in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,199 in 2023.

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