Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by job creation rate

Boone County had the highest job creation rate of 102 counties in 2012, at 19.925%. Cass County had the lowest, at 4.991%. The median was 11.641% and the figure for Illinois was 13.12%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest19.925Boone County
Lowest4.991Cass County
Median11.641102 counties
Illinois13.12History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 10.178 %Alexander County: 5.694 %Bond County: 12.527 %Boone County: 19.925 %Brown County: 12.908 %Bureau County: 9.502 %Calhoun County: 9.493 %Carroll County: 10.571 %Cass County: 4.991 %Champaign County: 12.364 %Christian County: 8.666 %Clark County: 17.736 %Clay County: 11.627 %Clinton County: 11.363 %Coles County: 10.004 %Cook County: 13.171 %Crawford County: 6.722 %Cumberland County: 14.328 %DeKalb County: 13.344 %De Witt County: 11.335 %Douglas County: 11.654 %DuPage County: 12.886 %Edgar County: 16.647 %Edwards County: 6.288 %Effingham County: 10.095 %Fayette County: 11.205 %Ford County: 10.988 %Franklin County: 16.231 %Fulton County: 11.735 %Gallatin County: 9.474 %Greene County: 11.346 %Grundy County: 9.347 %Hamilton County: 16.196 %Hancock County: 12.046 %Hardin County: 9.524 %Henderson County: 16.146 %Henry County: 9.045 %Iroquois County: 14.777 %Jackson County: 9.571 %Jasper County: 12.181 %Jefferson County: 9.103 %Jersey County: 15.134 %Jo Daviess County: 12.795 %Johnson County: 16.151 %Kane County: 14.375 %Kankakee County: 11.5 %Kendall County: 12.797 %Knox County: 9.256 %Lake County: 13.503 %LaSalle County: 12.813 %Lawrence County: 8.328 %Lee County: 9.865 %Livingston County: 11.46 %Logan County: 10.221 %McDonough County: 8.004 %McHenry County: 14.354 %McLean County: 8.751 %Macon County: 11.696 %Macoupin County: 15.037 %Madison County: 11.043 %Marion County: 12.051 %Marshall County: 11.333 %Mason County: 15.255 %Massac County: 6.917 %Menard County: 14.638 %Mercer County: 11.469 %Monroe County: 16.571 %Montgomery County: 13.269 %Morgan County: 11.309 %Moultrie County: 9.278 %Ogle County: 9.628 %Peoria County: 12.648 %Perry County: 11.524 %Piatt County: 13.233 %Pike County: 14.092 %Pope County: 10.37 %Pulaski County: 9.51 %Putnam County: 15.198 %Randolph County: 12.197 %Richland County: 9.338 %Rock Island County: 13.736 %St. Clair County: 13.338 %Saline County: 10.996 %Sangamon County: 12.917 %Schuyler County: 8.785 %Scott County: 11.485 %Shelby County: 9.165 %Stark County: 12.882 %Stephenson County: 11.363 %Tazewell County: 14.63 %Union County: 10.602 %Vermilion County: 12.723 %Wabash County: 12.721 %Warren County: 7.542 %Washington County: 11.705 %Wayne County: 12.532 %White County: 11.415 %Whiteside County: 12.413 %Will County: 15.124 %Williamson County: 10.348 %Winnebago County: 13.654 %Woodford County: 13.436 %
  • Under 9.3
  • 9.3 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2012

Boone County: 19.925 %Boone County19.925Clark County: 17.736 %Clark County17.736Edgar County: 16.647 %Edgar County16.647Monroe County: 16.571 %Monroe County16.571Franklin County: 16.231 %Franklin County16.231Hamilton County: 16.196 %Hamilton County16.196Johnson County: 16.151 %Johnson County16.151Henderson County: 16.146 %Henderson County16.146Mason County: 15.255 %Mason County15.255Putnam County: 15.198 %Putnam County15.198Jersey County: 15.134 %Jersey County15.134Will County: 15.124 %Will County15.124Macoupin County: 15.037 %Macoupin County15.037Iroquois County: 14.777 %Iroquois County14.777Menard County: 14.638 %Menard County14.638Tazewell County: 14.63 %Tazewell County14.63Kane County: 14.375 %Kane County14.375McHenry County: 14.354 %McHenry County14.354Cumberland County: 14.328 %Cumberland County14.328Pike County: 14.092 %Pike County14.092Rock Island County: 13.736 %Rock Island County13.736Winnebago County: 13.654 %Winnebago County13.654Lake County: 13.503 %Lake County13.503Woodford County: 13.436 %Woodford County13.436DeKalb County: 13.344 %DeKalb County13.344St. Clair County: 13.338 %St. Clair County13.338Montgomery County: 13.269 %Montgomery County13.269Piatt County: 13.233 %Piatt County13.233Cook County: 13.171 %Cook County13.171Sangamon County: 12.917 %Sangamon County12.917Brown County: 12.908 %Brown County12.908DuPage County: 12.886 %DuPage County12.886Stark County: 12.882 %Stark County12.882LaSalle County: 12.813 %LaSalle County12.813Kendall County: 12.797 %Kendall County12.797Jo Daviess County: 12.795 %Jo Daviess County12.795Vermilion County: 12.723 %Vermilion County12.723Wabash County: 12.721 %Wabash County12.721Peoria County: 12.648 %Peoria County12.648Wayne County: 12.532 %Wayne County12.532Boone County: 19.925 %Boone County19.925Clark County: 17.736 %Clark County17.736Edgar County: 16.647 %Edgar County16.647Monroe County: 16.571 %Monroe County16.571Franklin County: 16.231 %Franklin County16.231Hamilton County: 16.196 %Hamilton County16.196Johnson County: 16.151 %Johnson County16.151Henderson County: 16.146 %Henderson County16.146Mason County: 15.255 %Mason County15.255Putnam County: 15.198 %Putnam County15.198Jersey County: 15.134 %Jersey County15.134Will County: 15.124 %Will County15.124Macoupin County: 15.037 %Macoupin County15.037Iroquois County: 14.777 %Iroquois County14.777Menard County: 14.638 %Menard County14.638Tazewell County: 14.63 %Tazewell County14.63Kane County: 14.375 %Kane County14.375McHenry County: 14.354 %McHenry County14.354Cumberland County: 14.328 %Cumberland County14.328Pike County: 14.092 %Pike County14.092Rock Island County: 13.736 %Rock Island County13.736Winnebago County: 13.654 %Winnebago County13.654Lake County: 13.503 %Lake County13.503Woodford County: 13.436 %Woodford County13.436DeKalb County: 13.344 %DeKalb County13.344St. Clair County: 13.338 %St. Clair County13.338Montgomery County: 13.269 %Montgomery County13.269Piatt County: 13.233 %Piatt County13.233Cook County: 13.171 %Cook County13.171Sangamon County: 12.917 %Sangamon County12.917Brown County: 12.908 %Brown County12.908DuPage County: 12.886 %DuPage County12.886Stark County: 12.882 %Stark County12.882LaSalle County: 12.813 %LaSalle County12.813Kendall County: 12.797 %Kendall County12.797Jo Daviess County: 12.795 %Jo Daviess County12.795Vermilion County: 12.723 %Vermilion County12.723Wabash County: 12.721 %Wabash County12.721Peoria County: 12.648 %Peoria County12.648Wayne County: 12.532 %Wayne County12.532
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Boone County19.925+2.76 pts
2Clark County17.736+5.71 pts
3Edgar County16.647+9.09 pts
4Monroe County16.571+3.38 pts
5Franklin County16.231+5.07 pts
6Hamilton County16.196+7.83 pts
7Johnson County16.151+7.92 pts
8Henderson County16.146+3.65 pts
9Mason County15.255+4.92 pts
10Putnam County15.198-1.65 pts
11Jersey County15.134+6.4 pts
12Will County15.124+1 pts
13Macoupin County15.037+6.46 pts
14Iroquois County14.777+4.52 pts
15Menard County14.638+3.61 pts
16Tazewell County14.63+3.11 pts
17Kane County14.375+1.63 pts
18McHenry County14.354+0.99 pts
19Cumberland County14.328+1.55 pts
20Pike County14.092+4.93 pts
21Rock Island County13.736+3.54 pts
22Winnebago County13.654+3 pts
23Lake County13.503+1.87 pts
24Woodford County13.436-1.11 pts
25DeKalb County13.344+1.6 pts
26St. Clair County13.338+2.82 pts
27Montgomery County13.269+0.55 pts
28Piatt County13.233+5.13 pts
29Cook County13.171+0.84 pts
30Sangamon County12.917+3.91 pts
31Brown County12.908+4.26 pts
32DuPage County12.886-0.26 pts
33Stark County12.882+2.41 pts
34LaSalle County12.813+0.3 pts
35Kendall County12.797-0.91 pts
36Jo Daviess County12.795+1.87 pts
37Vermilion County12.723+4.08 pts
38Wabash County12.721+4.62 pts
39Peoria County12.648+1.21 pts
40Wayne County12.532+3.89 pts
41Bond County12.527+2.71 pts
42Whiteside County12.413-5.51 pts
43Champaign County12.364-1.58 pts
44Randolph County12.197+4.84 pts
45Jasper County12.181+0.01 pts
46Marion County12.051+1.83 pts
47Hancock County12.046+2.24 pts
48Fulton County11.735+1.8 pts
49Washington County11.705+2.69 pts
50Macon County11.696+2.05 pts
51Douglas County11.654-0.42 pts
52Clay County11.627+3.38 pts
53Perry County11.524+2.94 pts
54Kankakee County11.5+2.2 pts
55Scott County11.485-2.43 pts
56Mercer County11.469-2.35 pts
57Livingston County11.46+0.81 pts
58White County11.415+0.92 pts
59Clinton County11.363+0.8 pts
59Stephenson County11.363+2.56 pts
61Greene County11.346-2.47 pts
62De Witt County11.335+1.42 pts
63Marshall County11.333+3.03 pts
64Morgan County11.309+2.32 pts
65Fayette County11.205-0.63 pts
66Madison County11.043-1.36 pts
67Saline County10.996-1.4 pts
68Ford County10.988+2.52 pts
69Union County10.602-0.83 pts
70Carroll County10.571+0.37 pts
71Pope County10.37+3.38 pts
72Williamson County10.348-1.24 pts
73Logan County10.221+2.02 pts
74Adams County10.178-2.22 pts
75Effingham County10.095-0.13 pts
76Coles County10.004-0.91 pts
77Lee County9.865+3.32 pts
78Ogle County9.628-4.01 pts
79Jackson County9.571-3.05 pts
80Hardin County9.524+1.11 pts
81Pulaski County9.51-19.49 pts
82Bureau County9.502-0.34 pts
83Calhoun County9.493-3.61 pts
84Gallatin County9.474-3.55 pts
85Grundy County9.347+1.03 pts
86Richland County9.338+0.69 pts
87Moultrie County9.278+2.39 pts
88Knox County9.256+1.94 pts
89Shelby County9.165-0.77 pts
90Jefferson County9.103-1.09 pts
91Henry County9.045-4.08 pts
92Schuyler County8.785-2.86 pts
93McLean County8.751+0.37 pts
94Christian County8.666+0.43 pts
95Lawrence County8.328-0.63 pts
96McDonough County8.004-3.07 pts
97Warren County7.542-0.63 pts
98Massac County6.917-7.41 pts
99Crawford County6.722-10.92 pts
100Edwards County6.288-0.37 pts
101Alexander County5.694-0.57 pts
102Cass County4.991-1.06 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. 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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 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/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 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/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 2012}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Illinois by job creation rate, 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/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. 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 Counties in Illinois by job creation rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"job_creation_rate","level":"province","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=job_creation_rate&level=province&within=Illinois&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Boone County, with 19.925% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Cass County, with 4.991% 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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings