Data / Rankings / Employer firms / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by employer firms

Cook County had the highest employer firms of 102 counties in 2012, at 90,968. Hardin County had the lowest, at 51. The median was 525 and the figure for Illinois was 218,472. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest90,968Cook County
Lowest51Hardin County
Median525102 counties
Illinois218,472History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 1,538 countAlexander County: 96 countBond County: 279 countBoone County: 732 countBrown County: 105 countBureau County: 643 countCalhoun County: 78 countCarroll County: 340 countCass County: 217 countChampaign County: 3,190 countChristian County: 619 countClark County: 279 countClay County: 304 countClinton County: 709 countColes County: 947 countCook County: 90,968 countCrawford County: 367 countCumberland County: 140 countDeKalb County: 1,659 countDe Witt County: 342 countDouglas County: 492 countDuPage County: 24,577 countEdgar County: 305 countEdwards County: 132 countEffingham County: 993 countFayette County: 430 countFord County: 312 countFranklin County: 631 countFulton County: 583 countGallatin County: 90 countGreene County: 224 countGrundy County: 931 countHamilton County: 176 countHancock County: 323 countHardin County: 51 countHenderson County: 94 countHenry County: 900 countIroquois County: 564 countJackson County: 1,104 countJasper County: 186 countJefferson County: 824 countJersey County: 370 countJo Daviess County: 614 countJohnson County: 151 countKane County: 9,549 countKankakee County: 1,889 countKendall County: 1,569 countKnox County: 905 countLake County: 14,366 countLaSalle County: 2,177 countLawrence County: 254 countLee County: 624 countLivingston County: 747 countLogan County: 511 countMcDonough County: 581 countMcHenry County: 5,854 countMcLean County: 2,901 countMacon County: 1,916 countMacoupin County: 761 countMadison County: 4,585 countMarion County: 798 countMarshall County: 249 countMason County: 247 countMassac County: 210 countMenard County: 178 countMercer County: 242 countMonroe County: 675 countMontgomery County: 595 countMorgan County: 728 countMoultrie County: 287 countOgle County: 885 countPeoria County: 3,582 countPerry County: 373 countPiatt County: 279 countPike County: 319 countPope County: 57 countPulaski County: 85 countPutnam County: 111 countRandolph County: 538 countRichland County: 413 countRock Island County: 2,575 countSt. Clair County: 4,192 countSaline County: 487 countSangamon County: 4,009 countSchuyler County: 130 countScott County: 77 countShelby County: 386 countStark County: 95 countStephenson County: 913 countTazewell County: 2,229 countUnion County: 308 countVermilion County: 1,181 countWabash County: 249 countWarren County: 326 countWashington County: 339 countWayne County: 331 countWhite County: 330 countWhiteside County: 1,047 countWill County: 10,835 countWilliamson County: 1,318 countWinnebago County: 5,107 countWoodford County: 639 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,900
  • 1,900 and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2012

Cook County: 90,968 countCook County90,968DuPage County: 24,577 countDuPage County24,577Lake County: 14,366 countLake County14,366Will County: 10,835 countWill County10,835Kane County: 9,549 countKane County9,549McHenry County: 5,854 countMcHenry County5,854Winnebago County: 5,107 countWinnebago County5,107Madison County: 4,585 countMadison County4,585St. Clair County: 4,192 countSt. Clair County4,192Sangamon County: 4,009 countSangamon County4,009Peoria County: 3,582 countPeoria County3,582Champaign County: 3,190 countChampaign County3,190McLean County: 2,901 countMcLean County2,901Rock Island County: 2,575 countRock Island County2,575Tazewell County: 2,229 countTazewell County2,229LaSalle County: 2,177 countLaSalle County2,177Macon County: 1,916 countMacon County1,916Kankakee County: 1,889 countKankakee County1,889DeKalb County: 1,659 countDeKalb County1,659Kendall County: 1,569 countKendall County1,569Adams County: 1,538 countAdams County1,538Williamson County: 1,318 countWilliamson County1,318Vermilion County: 1,181 countVermilion County1,181Jackson County: 1,104 countJackson County1,104Whiteside County: 1,047 countWhiteside County1,047Effingham County: 993 countEffingham County993Coles County: 947 countColes County947Grundy County: 931 countGrundy County931Stephenson County: 913 countStephenson County913Knox County: 905 countKnox County905Henry County: 900 countHenry County900Ogle County: 885 countOgle County885Jefferson County: 824 countJefferson County824Marion County: 798 countMarion County798Macoupin County: 761 countMacoupin County761Livingston County: 747 countLivingston County747Boone County: 732 countBoone County732Morgan County: 728 countMorgan County728Clinton County: 709 countClinton County709Monroe County: 675 countMonroe County675Cook County: 90,968 countCook County90,968DuPage County: 24,577 countDuPage County24,577Lake County: 14,366 countLake County14,366Will County: 10,835 countWill County10,835Kane County: 9,549 countKane County9,549McHenry County: 5,854 countMcHenry County5,854Winnebago County: 5,107 countWinnebago County5,107Madison County: 4,585 countMadison County4,585St. Clair County: 4,192 countSt. Clair County4,192Sangamon County: 4,009 countSangamon County4,009Peoria County: 3,582 countPeoria County3,582Champaign County: 3,190 countChampaign County3,190McLean County: 2,901 countMcLean County2,901Rock Island County: 2,575 countRock Island County2,575Tazewell County: 2,229 countTazewell County2,229LaSalle County: 2,177 countLaSalle County2,177Macon County: 1,916 countMacon County1,916Kankakee County: 1,889 countKankakee County1,889DeKalb County: 1,659 countDeKalb County1,659Kendall County: 1,569 countKendall County1,569Adams County: 1,538 countAdams County1,538Williamson County: 1,318 countWilliamson County1,318Vermilion County: 1,181 countVermilion County1,181Jackson County: 1,104 countJackson County1,104Whiteside County: 1,047 countWhiteside County1,047Effingham County: 993 countEffingham County993Coles County: 947 countColes County947Grundy County: 931 countGrundy County931Stephenson County: 913 countStephenson County913Knox County: 905 countKnox County905Henry County: 900 countHenry County900Ogle County: 885 countOgle County885Jefferson County: 824 countJefferson County824Marion County: 798 countMarion County798Macoupin County: 761 countMacoupin County761Livingston County: 747 countLivingston County747Boone County: 732 countBoone County732Morgan County: 728 countMorgan County728Clinton County: 709 countClinton County709Monroe County: 675 countMonroe County675
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count		Change on 2011
1Cook County90,968+0.9%
2DuPage County24,577+0.5%
3Lake County14,366+1.1%
4Will County10,835+0.9%
5Kane County9,549-0.3%
6McHenry County5,854+0.3%
7Winnebago County5,107-0.7%
8Madison County4,585-0.6%
9St. Clair County4,192-0.3%
10Sangamon County4,009-0.5%
11Peoria County3,5820%
12Champaign County3,190-1.5%
13McLean County2,901+0.3%
14Rock Island County2,575-1.2%
15Tazewell County2,229+0.1%
16LaSalle County2,177-1.4%
17Macon County1,916-1.8%
18Kankakee County1,889+0.1%
19DeKalb County1,6590%
20Kendall County1,569+2.7%
21Adams County1,5380%
22Williamson County1,318-1.1%
23Vermilion County1,181+1.1%
24Jackson County1,104-0.2%
25Whiteside County1,047-1.1%
26Effingham County993+0.5%
27Coles County947-0.8%
28Grundy County931+1.3%
29Stephenson County913-0.1%
30Knox County905-1.3%
31Henry County900-1%
32Ogle County885+0.5%
33Jefferson County824-1%
34Marion County798-2.3%
35Macoupin County761-0.1%
36Livingston County747-2.1%
37Boone County732+5.8%
38Morgan County7280%
39Clinton County709+0.7%
40Monroe County675+1.7%
41Bureau County643+0.5%
42Woodford County639-0.3%
43Franklin County631-1.9%
44Lee County624+1%
45Christian County619-1.4%
46Jo Daviess County614-0.2%
47Montgomery County5950%
48Fulton County583+0.2%
49McDonough County581+1.6%
50Iroquois County564+2.5%
51Randolph County538-2.7%
52Logan County511-1%
53Douglas County492-3.7%
54Saline County487-3.9%
55Fayette County430-0.7%
56Richland County413-0.5%
57Shelby County386+0.3%
58Perry County3730%
59Jersey County370-2.1%
60Crawford County367+0.3%
61De Witt County342+0.6%
62Carroll County340-1.2%
63Washington County339+2.4%
64Wayne County331+6.1%
65White County330-0.9%
66Warren County326-1.8%
67Hancock County323-2.4%
68Pike County319+4.6%
69Ford County312-1.6%
70Union County308+0.3%
71Edgar County305-1.3%
72Clay County304+0.7%
73Moultrie County287-1.4%
74Bond County279-2.8%
74Clark County279+0.7%
74Piatt County279+0.4%
77Lawrence County254-3.4%
78Marshall County249+2%
78Wabash County249-0.8%
80Mason County247+0.4%
81Mercer County242-4%
82Greene County224-1.3%
83Cass County217-4.4%
84Massac County210-0.9%
85Jasper County186+1.1%
86Menard County178-1.7%
87Hamilton County176+2.3%
88Johnson County151-2.6%
89Cumberland County140-2.8%
90Edwards County132+1.5%
91Schuyler County130-1.5%
92Putnam County1110%
93Brown County105-1.9%
94Alexander County96-1%
95Stark County95-3.1%
96Henderson County94+3.3%
97Gallatin County90+1.1%
98Pulaski County85+2.4%
99Calhoun County78-7.1%
100Scott County77-2.5%
101Pope County57-3.4%
102Hardin County51-3.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois by employer firms, 2012
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-counties?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Cook County, with 90,968 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Hardin County, with 51 in 2012.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings