Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by employed residents

Chicago, IL had the highest employed residents of 104 cities in 2024, at 1.41 million. East St. Louis, IL had the lowest, at 6,263. The median was 18,561. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,414,293Chicago, IL
Lowest6,263East St. Louis, IL
Median18,561104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2024

Chicago, IL: 1,414,293 personsChicago, IL1,414,293Aurora, IL: 93,601 personsAurora, IL93,601Naperville, IL: 79,856 personsNaperville, IL79,856Joliet, IL: 77,268 personsJoliet, IL77,268Rockford, IL: 61,800 personsRockford, IL61,800Elgin, IL: 56,517 personsElgin, IL56,517Springfield, IL: 52,463 personsSpringfield, IL52,463Peoria, IL: 49,759 personsPeoria, IL49,759Champaign, IL: 45,539 personsChampaign, IL45,539Waukegan, IL: 43,201 personsWaukegan, IL43,201Bloomington, IL: 42,789 personsBloomington, IL42,789Bolingbrook, IL: 41,266 personsBolingbrook, IL41,266Schaumburg, IL: 41,016 personsSchaumburg, IL41,016Arlington Heights, IL: 39,682 personsArlington Heights, IL39,682Cicero, IL: 39,628 personsCicero, IL39,628Evanston, IL: 38,379 personsEvanston, IL38,379Palatine, IL: 37,171 personsPalatine, IL37,171Skokie, IL: 31,777 personsSkokie, IL31,777Des Plaines, IL: 30,934 personsDes Plaines, IL30,934Mount Prospect, IL: 29,424 personsMount Prospect, IL29,424Berwyn, IL: 29,028 personsBerwyn, IL29,028Normal, IL: 28,733 personsNormal, IL28,733Orland Park, IL: 28,622 personsOrland Park, IL28,622Tinley Park, IL: 28,520 personsTinley Park, IL28,520Oak Park, IL: 28,335 personsOak Park, IL28,335Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,817 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,817Decatur, IL: 27,633 personsDecatur, IL27,633Wheaton, IL: 27,478 personsWheaton, IL27,478Oak Lawn, IL: 27,262 personsOak Lawn, IL27,262Downers Grove, IL: 26,948 personsDowners Grove, IL26,948Plainfield, IL: 25,667 personsPlainfield, IL25,667Lombard, IL: 25,138 personsLombard, IL25,138Bartlett, IL: 23,496 personsBartlett, IL23,496Romeoville, IL: 23,399 personsRomeoville, IL23,399Elmhurst, IL: 23,158 personsElmhurst, IL23,158Glenview, IL: 23,114 personsGlenview, IL23,114Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,799 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,799Crystal Lake, IL: 22,726 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,726Wheeling, IL: 21,961 personsWheeling, IL21,961Carol Stream, IL: 21,956 personsCarol Stream, IL21,956Chicago, IL: 1,414,293 personsChicago, IL1,414,293Aurora, IL: 93,601 personsAurora, IL93,601Naperville, IL: 79,856 personsNaperville, IL79,856Joliet, IL: 77,268 personsJoliet, IL77,268Rockford, IL: 61,800 personsRockford, IL61,800Elgin, IL: 56,517 personsElgin, IL56,517Springfield, IL: 52,463 personsSpringfield, IL52,463Peoria, IL: 49,759 personsPeoria, IL49,759Champaign, IL: 45,539 personsChampaign, IL45,539Waukegan, IL: 43,201 personsWaukegan, IL43,201Bloomington, IL: 42,789 personsBloomington, IL42,789Bolingbrook, IL: 41,266 personsBolingbrook, IL41,266Schaumburg, IL: 41,016 personsSchaumburg, IL41,016Arlington Heights, IL: 39,682 personsArlington Heights, IL39,682Cicero, IL: 39,628 personsCicero, IL39,628Evanston, IL: 38,379 personsEvanston, IL38,379Palatine, IL: 37,171 personsPalatine, IL37,171Skokie, IL: 31,777 personsSkokie, IL31,777Des Plaines, IL: 30,934 personsDes Plaines, IL30,934Mount Prospect, IL: 29,424 personsMount Prospect, IL29,424Berwyn, IL: 29,028 personsBerwyn, IL29,028Normal, IL: 28,733 personsNormal, IL28,733Orland Park, IL: 28,622 personsOrland Park, IL28,622Tinley Park, IL: 28,520 personsTinley Park, IL28,520Oak Park, IL: 28,335 personsOak Park, IL28,335Hoffman Estates, IL: 27,817 personsHoffman Estates, IL27,817Decatur, IL: 27,633 personsDecatur, IL27,633Wheaton, IL: 27,478 personsWheaton, IL27,478Oak Lawn, IL: 27,262 personsOak Lawn, IL27,262Downers Grove, IL: 26,948 personsDowners Grove, IL26,948Plainfield, IL: 25,667 personsPlainfield, IL25,667Lombard, IL: 25,138 personsLombard, IL25,138Bartlett, IL: 23,496 personsBartlett, IL23,496Romeoville, IL: 23,399 personsRomeoville, IL23,399Elmhurst, IL: 23,158 personsElmhurst, IL23,158Glenview, IL: 23,114 personsGlenview, IL23,114Buffalo Grove, IL: 22,799 personsBuffalo Grove, IL22,799Crystal Lake, IL: 22,726 personsCrystal Lake, IL22,726Wheeling, IL: 21,961 personsWheeling, IL21,961Carol Stream, IL: 21,956 personsCarol Stream, IL21,956
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024
persons		Change on 2023
1Chicago, IL1,414,293+1.7%
2Aurora, IL93,601+0.8%
3Naperville, IL79,856+2.2%
4Joliet, IL77,268+1.2%
5Rockford, IL61,800+0.4%
6Elgin, IL56,517+0.7%
7Springfield, IL52,463+1.5%
8Peoria, IL49,759+1.3%
9Champaign, IL45,539+0.9%
10Waukegan, IL43,2010%
11Bloomington, IL42,789+1.5%
12Bolingbrook, IL41,266+1.4%
13Schaumburg, IL41,016+1.9%
14Arlington Heights, IL39,682+1.6%
15Cicero, IL39,628+1.4%
16Evanston, IL38,379+1.4%
17Palatine, IL37,171+1.8%
18Skokie, IL31,777+1.5%
19Des Plaines, IL30,934+1.5%
20Mount Prospect, IL29,424+2.2%
21Berwyn, IL29,028+1.4%
22Normal, IL28,733+1.5%
23Orland Park, IL28,622+1.8%
24Tinley Park, IL28,520+1.9%
25Oak Park, IL28,335+1.4%
26Hoffman Estates, IL27,817+1.6%
27Decatur, IL27,633-0.4%
28Wheaton, IL27,478+1.5%
29Oak Lawn, IL27,262+1.5%
30Downers Grove, IL26,948+1.7%
31Plainfield, IL25,667+3.5%
32Lombard, IL25,138+1.7%
33Bartlett, IL23,496+1.9%
34Romeoville, IL23,399+1%
35Elmhurst, IL23,158+1.8%
36Glenview, IL23,114+1.6%
37Buffalo Grove, IL22,799+0.7%
38Crystal Lake, IL22,726+2.3%
39Wheeling, IL21,961+1.6%
40Carol Stream, IL21,956+1.6%
41Streamwood, IL21,112+1.5%
42Addison, IL20,142+1.7%
43Urbana, IL20,124+0.5%
44Oswego, IL20,031+4.3%
45Park Ridge, IL19,613+1.5%
46DeKalb, IL19,597+0.2%
47Moline, IL19,595+0.5%
48Belleville, IL19,479-0.3%
49Woodridge, IL19,290+1.7%
50Quincy, IL19,163-0.1%
51Carpentersville, IL18,818-0.5%
52Hanover Park, IL18,642+1.5%
53Glendale Heights, IL18,480+1.5%
54St. Charles, IL17,968+1.7%
55Algonquin, IL17,665+1.6%
56Mundelein, IL17,279+1.6%
57Elk Grove Village, IL16,919+1.5%
58Northbrook, IL16,773+1.6%
59Rock Island, IL16,282+0.2%
60McHenry, IL16,175+2.7%
61Gurnee, IL16,162+0.1%
62Calumet City, IL15,902+1.5%
63Lake in the Hills, IL15,683+0.8%
64Lockport, IL15,362+1.9%
65New Lenox, IL14,941+2.1%
66O'Fallon, IL14,914+0.4%
67Oak Forest, IL14,554+2.4%
68Highland Park, IL14,542+0.7%
69Woodstock, IL14,286+1.2%
70Pekin, IL14,112+0.7%
71Glen Ellyn, IL13,991+1.7%
72Niles, IL13,845+1.5%
73Vernon Hills, IL13,798+0.2%
74Batavia, IL13,762-0.2%
75Burbank, IL13,598+1.6%
76Lansing, IL13,580+1.5%
77Yorkville, IL13,570+4.7%
78Round Lake Beach, IL13,564+0.1%
79West Chicago, IL13,513+1.5%
80Edwardsville, IL12,982+0.3%
81Collinsville, IL12,6240%
82Westmont, IL12,370+1.5%
83Belvidere, IL12,363-0.1%
84Granite City, IL12,231+0.1%
85Wilmette, IL12,185+1.6%
86Huntley, IL12,112+1.5%
87Morton Grove, IL12,099+1.5%
88Melrose Park, IL12,041+1.5%
89Homer Glen, IL11,947+1.8%
90Elmwood Park, IL11,852+1.5%
91Zion, IL11,689+0.1%
92Alton, IL11,498-0%
93Galesburg, IL11,181+2.2%
94Chicago Heights, IL10,794+1.4%
95Danville, IL10,256-0.4%
96Freeport, IL10,251+0.4%
97Park Forest, IL9,915+1.4%
98Carbondale, IL9,578+2.2%
99Maywood, IL9,514+2.2%
100North Chicago, IL9,348+0.1%
101Kankakee, IL9,298+0.4%
102Dolton, IL8,652+1.5%
103Harvey, IL8,133+2.1%
104East St. Louis, IL6,263+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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/illinois-cities?period=2024.
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  -
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 1.41 million in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

East St. Louis, IL, with 6,263 in 2024.

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