Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by job creation rate

Pulaski County had the highest job creation rate of 102 counties in 2015, at 39.656%. Alexander County had the lowest, at 3.387%. The median was 10.856% and the figure for Illinois was 13.396%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest39.656Pulaski County
Lowest3.387Alexander County
Median10.856102 counties
Illinois13.396History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 9.329 %Alexander County: 3.387 %Bond County: 7.037 %Boone County: 12.131 %Brown County: 8.207 %Bureau County: 7.451 %Calhoun County: 7.315 %Carroll County: 16.455 %Cass County: 5.071 %Champaign County: 10.226 %Christian County: 7.31 %Clark County: 13.057 %Clay County: 9.357 %Clinton County: 12.662 %Coles County: 11.029 %Cook County: 13.477 %Crawford County: 8.331 %Cumberland County: 7.848 %DeKalb County: 13.39 %De Witt County: 15.66 %Douglas County: 11.151 %DuPage County: 12.851 %Edgar County: 13.019 %Edwards County: 16.523 %Effingham County: 14.466 %Fayette County: 9.475 %Ford County: 10.007 %Franklin County: 12.773 %Fulton County: 10.311 %Gallatin County: 8.075 %Greene County: 10.986 %Grundy County: 14.455 %Hamilton County: 20.494 %Hancock County: 9.359 %Hardin County: 11.42 %Henderson County: 19.541 %Henry County: 10.716 %Iroquois County: 7.768 %Jackson County: 11.575 %Jasper County: 13.726 %Jefferson County: 6.771 %Jersey County: 10.713 %Jo Daviess County: 11.474 %Johnson County: 14.79 %Kane County: 11.883 %Kankakee County: 11.118 %Kendall County: 15.394 %Knox County: 10.736 %Lake County: 11.343 %LaSalle County: 10.358 %Lawrence County: 14.089 %Lee County: 10.788 %Livingston County: 9.088 %Logan County: 8.547 %McDonough County: 9.91 %McHenry County: 14.864 %McLean County: 8.91 %Macon County: 9.132 %Macoupin County: 9.565 %Madison County: 12.898 %Marion County: 10.415 %Marshall County: 8.405 %Mason County: 10.046 %Massac County: 16.174 %Menard County: 18.151 %Mercer County: 7.437 %Monroe County: 13.551 %Montgomery County: 10.04 %Morgan County: 9.914 %Moultrie County: 7.126 %Ogle County: 10.234 %Peoria County: 12.251 %Perry County: 11.988 %Piatt County: 8.059 %Pike County: 11.75 %Pope County: 28.389 %Pulaski County: 39.656 %Putnam County: 8.586 %Randolph County: 8.597 %Richland County: 6.343 %Rock Island County: 9.693 %St. Clair County: 11.619 %Saline County: 13.486 %Sangamon County: 11.517 %Schuyler County: 9.877 %Scott County: 11.041 %Shelby County: 10.923 %Stark County: 10 %Stephenson County: 9.333 %Tazewell County: 10.947 %Union County: 13.023 %Vermilion County: 11.437 %Wabash County: 6.22 %Warren County: 15.829 %Washington County: 12.395 %Wayne County: 10.464 %White County: 9.671 %Whiteside County: 11.182 %Will County: 14.793 %Williamson County: 12.584 %Winnebago County: 9.125 %Woodford County: 8.778 %
  • Under 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2015. 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, 2015

Pulaski County: 39.656 %Pulaski County39.656Pope County: 28.389 %Pope County28.389Hamilton County: 20.494 %Hamilton County20.494Henderson County: 19.541 %Henderson County19.541Menard County: 18.151 %Menard County18.151Edwards County: 16.523 %Edwards County16.523Carroll County: 16.455 %Carroll County16.455Massac County: 16.174 %Massac County16.174Warren County: 15.829 %Warren County15.829De Witt County: 15.66 %De Witt County15.66Kendall County: 15.394 %Kendall County15.394McHenry County: 14.864 %McHenry County14.864Will County: 14.793 %Will County14.793Johnson County: 14.79 %Johnson County14.79Effingham County: 14.466 %Effingham County14.466Grundy County: 14.455 %Grundy County14.455Lawrence County: 14.089 %Lawrence County14.089Jasper County: 13.726 %Jasper County13.726Monroe County: 13.551 %Monroe County13.551Saline County: 13.486 %Saline County13.486Cook County: 13.477 %Cook County13.477DeKalb County: 13.39 %DeKalb County13.39Clark County: 13.057 %Clark County13.057Union County: 13.023 %Union County13.023Edgar County: 13.019 %Edgar County13.019Madison County: 12.898 %Madison County12.898DuPage County: 12.851 %DuPage County12.851Franklin County: 12.773 %Franklin County12.773Clinton County: 12.662 %Clinton County12.662Williamson County: 12.584 %Williamson County12.584Washington County: 12.395 %Washington County12.395Peoria County: 12.251 %Peoria County12.251Boone County: 12.131 %Boone County12.131Perry County: 11.988 %Perry County11.988Kane County: 11.883 %Kane County11.883Pike County: 11.75 %Pike County11.75St. Clair County: 11.619 %St. Clair County11.619Jackson County: 11.575 %Jackson County11.575Sangamon County: 11.517 %Sangamon County11.517Jo Daviess County: 11.474 %Jo Daviess County11.474Pulaski County: 39.656 %Pulaski County39.656Pope County: 28.389 %Pope County28.389Hamilton County: 20.494 %Hamilton County20.494Henderson County: 19.541 %Henderson County19.541Menard County: 18.151 %Menard County18.151Edwards County: 16.523 %Edwards County16.523Carroll County: 16.455 %Carroll County16.455Massac County: 16.174 %Massac County16.174Warren County: 15.829 %Warren County15.829De Witt County: 15.66 %De Witt County15.66Kendall County: 15.394 %Kendall County15.394McHenry County: 14.864 %McHenry County14.864Will County: 14.793 %Will County14.793Johnson County: 14.79 %Johnson County14.79Effingham County: 14.466 %Effingham County14.466Grundy County: 14.455 %Grundy County14.455Lawrence County: 14.089 %Lawrence County14.089Jasper County: 13.726 %Jasper County13.726Monroe County: 13.551 %Monroe County13.551Saline County: 13.486 %Saline County13.486Cook County: 13.477 %Cook County13.477DeKalb County: 13.39 %DeKalb County13.39Clark County: 13.057 %Clark County13.057Union County: 13.023 %Union County13.023Edgar County: 13.019 %Edgar County13.019Madison County: 12.898 %Madison County12.898DuPage County: 12.851 %DuPage County12.851Franklin County: 12.773 %Franklin County12.773Clinton County: 12.662 %Clinton County12.662Williamson County: 12.584 %Williamson County12.584Washington County: 12.395 %Washington County12.395Peoria County: 12.251 %Peoria County12.251Boone County: 12.131 %Boone County12.131Perry County: 11.988 %Perry County11.988Kane County: 11.883 %Kane County11.883Pike County: 11.75 %Pike County11.75St. Clair County: 11.619 %St. Clair County11.619Jackson County: 11.575 %Jackson County11.575Sangamon County: 11.517 %Sangamon County11.517Jo Daviess County: 11.474 %Jo Daviess County11.474
%. 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

RankCounties2015 (%)Change on 2014
1Pulaski County39.656+31.28 pts
2Pope County28.389+20.21 pts
3Hamilton County20.494+1.81 pts
4Henderson County19.541+3.94 pts
5Menard County18.151+2.95 pts
6Edwards County16.523+9.89 pts
7Carroll County16.455+2.25 pts
8Massac County16.174+6.69 pts
9Warren County15.829+10.7 pts
10De Witt County15.66+6.13 pts
11Kendall County15.394+0.22 pts
12McHenry County14.864-0.24 pts
13Will County14.793-1.34 pts
14Johnson County14.79+1.07 pts
15Effingham County14.466+0.68 pts
16Grundy County14.455-4.68 pts
17Lawrence County14.089-1.57 pts
18Jasper County13.726-14.68 pts
19Monroe County13.551+0.39 pts
20Saline County13.486+3.93 pts
21Cook County13.477+0.32 pts
22DeKalb County13.39+1.73 pts
23Clark County13.057-3.78 pts
24Union County13.023+0.51 pts
25Edgar County13.019-1.58 pts
26Madison County12.898+1.38 pts
27DuPage County12.851-1.42 pts
28Franklin County12.773-1.46 pts
29Clinton County12.662+0.92 pts
30Williamson County12.584+4 pts
31Washington County12.395+5.42 pts
32Peoria County12.251+4.81 pts
33Boone County12.131+4.63 pts
34Perry County11.988+4.11 pts
35Kane County11.883-1.82 pts
36Pike County11.75-2.74 pts
37St. Clair County11.619+0.83 pts
38Jackson County11.575-0.94 pts
39Sangamon County11.517+0.22 pts
40Jo Daviess County11.474-0.52 pts
41Vermilion County11.437-0.31 pts
42Hardin County11.42+2.7 pts
43Lake County11.343-1.75 pts
44Whiteside County11.182+4.56 pts
45Douglas County11.151-0.67 pts
46Kankakee County11.118-0.99 pts
47Scott County11.041+3.42 pts
48Coles County11.029+0.61 pts
49Greene County10.986+1.79 pts
50Tazewell County10.947+1.19 pts
51Shelby County10.923+1.46 pts
52Lee County10.788-0.71 pts
53Knox County10.736+0.27 pts
54Henry County10.716+2.45 pts
55Jersey County10.713+0.46 pts
56Wayne County10.464+3.18 pts
57Marion County10.415-0.32 pts
58LaSalle County10.358-0.74 pts
59Fulton County10.311+3.83 pts
60Ogle County10.234+2.59 pts
61Champaign County10.226-0.34 pts
62Mason County10.046+0.65 pts
63Montgomery County10.04+3.2 pts
64Ford County10.007+0.03 pts
65Stark County10-3.31 pts
66Morgan County9.914-0.52 pts
67McDonough County9.91+2.39 pts
68Schuyler County9.877+2.1 pts
69Rock Island County9.693+0.43 pts
70White County9.671+2.55 pts
71Macoupin County9.565-0.89 pts
72Fayette County9.475-1.97 pts
73Hancock County9.359-0.01 pts
74Clay County9.357-0.46 pts
75Stephenson County9.333+1.09 pts
76Adams County9.329+0.43 pts
77Macon County9.132+1.04 pts
78Winnebago County9.125+0.17 pts
79Livingston County9.088+0.24 pts
80McLean County8.91-0.04 pts
81Woodford County8.778+0.9 pts
82Randolph County8.597+1.51 pts
83Putnam County8.586-5.26 pts
84Logan County8.547+1.29 pts
85Marshall County8.405-7.58 pts
86Crawford County8.331-0.89 pts
87Brown County8.207-2.23 pts
88Gallatin County8.075-4.56 pts
89Piatt County8.059-12.72 pts
90Cumberland County7.848-23.48 pts
91Iroquois County7.768-4.32 pts
92Bureau County7.451-2.5 pts
93Mercer County7.437-1.34 pts
94Calhoun County7.315-4.9 pts
95Christian County7.31-2.07 pts
96Moultrie County7.126-1.42 pts
97Bond County7.037-1.04 pts
98Jefferson County6.771-2.7 pts
99Richland County6.343-3.11 pts
100Wabash County6.22-1.7 pts
101Cass County5.071+0.93 pts
102Alexander County3.387-15.72 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, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.

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, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2015.
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  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Pulaski County, with 39.656% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Alexander County, with 3.387% in 2015.

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