Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by job creation rate

Montgomery County had the highest job creation rate of 102 counties in 2018, at 23.486%. Edwards County had the lowest, at 4.093%. The median was 11.178% and the figure for Illinois was 11.926%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23.486Montgomery County
Lowest4.093Edwards County
Median11.178102 counties
Illinois11.926History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 13.658 %Alexander County: 18.964 %Bond County: 14.483 %Boone County: 14.995 %Brown County: 9.149 %Bureau County: 10.251 %Calhoun County: 15.429 %Carroll County: 11.753 %Cass County: 6.219 %Champaign County: 11.754 %Christian County: 8.953 %Clark County: 8.254 %Clay County: 9.581 %Clinton County: 11.787 %Coles County: 15.371 %Cook County: 11.918 %Crawford County: 5.155 %Cumberland County: 8.906 %DeKalb County: 13.004 %De Witt County: 10.174 %Douglas County: 11.813 %DuPage County: 11.757 %Edgar County: 6.649 %Edwards County: 4.093 %Effingham County: 8.22 %Fayette County: 13.688 %Ford County: 11.24 %Franklin County: 15.073 %Fulton County: 12.729 %Gallatin County: 14.815 %Greene County: 11.143 %Grundy County: 13.801 %Hamilton County: 6.863 %Hancock County: 12.64 %Hardin County: 9.115 %Henderson County: 20.685 %Henry County: 8.223 %Iroquois County: 11.29 %Jackson County: 11.857 %Jasper County: 12.179 %Jefferson County: 7.544 %Jersey County: 14.923 %Jo Daviess County: 10.066 %Johnson County: 16.059 %Kane County: 13.295 %Kankakee County: 12.133 %Kendall County: 12.731 %Knox County: 9.459 %Lake County: 11.291 %LaSalle County: 9.665 %Lawrence County: 6.409 %Lee County: 9.976 %Livingston County: 12.702 %Logan County: 11.016 %McDonough County: 10.088 %McHenry County: 12.921 %McLean County: 12.404 %Macon County: 9.92 %Macoupin County: 10.416 %Madison County: 10.762 %Marion County: 14.677 %Marshall County: 9.344 %Mason County: 9.188 %Massac County: 7.318 %Menard County: 11.396 %Mercer County: 12.591 %Monroe County: 10.468 %Montgomery County: 23.486 %Morgan County: 8.762 %Moultrie County: 8.045 %Ogle County: 16.581 %Peoria County: 10.632 %Perry County: 12.233 %Piatt County: 13.77 %Pike County: 10.114 %Pope County: 21.356 %Pulaski County: 8.262 %Putnam County: 21.005 %Randolph County: 8.895 %Richland County: 8.112 %Rock Island County: 13.335 %St. Clair County: 10.827 %Saline County: 9.252 %Sangamon County: 8.642 %Schuyler County: 8.77 %Scott County: 6.983 %Shelby County: 22.721 %Stark County: 11.212 %Stephenson County: 10.648 %Tazewell County: 13.105 %Union County: 11.645 %Vermilion County: 9.141 %Wabash County: 8.66 %Warren County: 7.734 %Washington County: 16.361 %Wayne County: 11.597 %White County: 9.256 %Whiteside County: 10.168 %Will County: 14.128 %Williamson County: 9.224 %Winnebago County: 9.81 %Woodford County: 13.957 %
  • Under 8.7
  • 8.7 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2018. 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, 2018

Montgomery County: 23.486 %Montgomery County23.486Shelby County: 22.721 %Shelby County22.721Pope County: 21.356 %Pope County21.356Putnam County: 21.005 %Putnam County21.005Henderson County: 20.685 %Henderson County20.685Alexander County: 18.964 %Alexander County18.964Ogle County: 16.581 %Ogle County16.581Washington County: 16.361 %Washington County16.361Johnson County: 16.059 %Johnson County16.059Calhoun County: 15.429 %Calhoun County15.429Coles County: 15.371 %Coles County15.371Franklin County: 15.073 %Franklin County15.073Boone County: 14.995 %Boone County14.995Jersey County: 14.923 %Jersey County14.923Gallatin County: 14.815 %Gallatin County14.815Marion County: 14.677 %Marion County14.677Bond County: 14.483 %Bond County14.483Will County: 14.128 %Will County14.128Woodford County: 13.957 %Woodford County13.957Grundy County: 13.801 %Grundy County13.801Piatt County: 13.77 %Piatt County13.77Fayette County: 13.688 %Fayette County13.688Adams County: 13.658 %Adams County13.658Rock Island County: 13.335 %Rock Island County13.335Kane County: 13.295 %Kane County13.295Tazewell County: 13.105 %Tazewell County13.105DeKalb County: 13.004 %DeKalb County13.004McHenry County: 12.921 %McHenry County12.921Kendall County: 12.731 %Kendall County12.731Fulton County: 12.729 %Fulton County12.729Livingston County: 12.702 %Livingston County12.702Hancock County: 12.64 %Hancock County12.64Mercer County: 12.591 %Mercer County12.591McLean County: 12.404 %McLean County12.404Perry County: 12.233 %Perry County12.233Jasper County: 12.179 %Jasper County12.179Kankakee County: 12.133 %Kankakee County12.133Cook County: 11.918 %Cook County11.918Jackson County: 11.857 %Jackson County11.857Douglas County: 11.813 %Douglas County11.813Montgomery County: 23.486 %Montgomery County23.486Shelby County: 22.721 %Shelby County22.721Pope County: 21.356 %Pope County21.356Putnam County: 21.005 %Putnam County21.005Henderson County: 20.685 %Henderson County20.685Alexander County: 18.964 %Alexander County18.964Ogle County: 16.581 %Ogle County16.581Washington County: 16.361 %Washington County16.361Johnson County: 16.059 %Johnson County16.059Calhoun County: 15.429 %Calhoun County15.429Coles County: 15.371 %Coles County15.371Franklin County: 15.073 %Franklin County15.073Boone County: 14.995 %Boone County14.995Jersey County: 14.923 %Jersey County14.923Gallatin County: 14.815 %Gallatin County14.815Marion County: 14.677 %Marion County14.677Bond County: 14.483 %Bond County14.483Will County: 14.128 %Will County14.128Woodford County: 13.957 %Woodford County13.957Grundy County: 13.801 %Grundy County13.801Piatt County: 13.77 %Piatt County13.77Fayette County: 13.688 %Fayette County13.688Adams County: 13.658 %Adams County13.658Rock Island County: 13.335 %Rock Island County13.335Kane County: 13.295 %Kane County13.295Tazewell County: 13.105 %Tazewell County13.105DeKalb County: 13.004 %DeKalb County13.004McHenry County: 12.921 %McHenry County12.921Kendall County: 12.731 %Kendall County12.731Fulton County: 12.729 %Fulton County12.729Livingston County: 12.702 %Livingston County12.702Hancock County: 12.64 %Hancock County12.64Mercer County: 12.591 %Mercer County12.591McLean County: 12.404 %McLean County12.404Perry County: 12.233 %Perry County12.233Jasper County: 12.179 %Jasper County12.179Kankakee County: 12.133 %Kankakee County12.133Cook County: 11.918 %Cook County11.918Jackson County: 11.857 %Jackson County11.857Douglas County: 11.813 %Douglas County11.813
%. 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

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Montgomery County23.486+11.75 pts
2Shelby County22.721+11.04 pts
3Pope County21.356+6.31 pts
4Putnam County21.005+13.76 pts
5Henderson County20.685+3.41 pts
6Alexander County18.964+12.93 pts
7Ogle County16.581+2.39 pts
8Washington County16.361+9.51 pts
9Johnson County16.059+4.83 pts
10Calhoun County15.429+5.29 pts
11Coles County15.371+1.31 pts
12Franklin County15.073-0.49 pts
13Boone County14.995+3.39 pts
14Jersey County14.923+5.65 pts
15Gallatin County14.815-6.22 pts
16Marion County14.677+5.45 pts
17Bond County14.483+6.32 pts
18Will County14.128-1.78 pts
19Woodford County13.957+2.09 pts
20Grundy County13.801+3.19 pts
21Piatt County13.77+0.71 pts
22Fayette County13.688-0.82 pts
23Adams County13.658+2.76 pts
24Rock Island County13.335+3.72 pts
25Kane County13.295+1.46 pts
26Tazewell County13.105+1.02 pts
27DeKalb County13.004+3.28 pts
28McHenry County12.921+0.7 pts
29Kendall County12.731-0.99 pts
30Fulton County12.729+1.51 pts
31Livingston County12.702+1.13 pts
32Hancock County12.64-1.85 pts
33Mercer County12.591+1.85 pts
34McLean County12.404+3.21 pts
35Perry County12.233-1.53 pts
36Jasper County12.179-5.09 pts
37Kankakee County12.133-0.91 pts
38Cook County11.918-0.21 pts
39Jackson County11.857-4.52 pts
40Douglas County11.813+1.46 pts
41Clinton County11.787+0.64 pts
42DuPage County11.757-0.55 pts
43Champaign County11.754+0.56 pts
44Carroll County11.753+2.75 pts
45Union County11.645+0.05 pts
46Wayne County11.597+1.34 pts
47Menard County11.396-5.83 pts
48Lake County11.291+0.38 pts
49Iroquois County11.29+2.79 pts
50Ford County11.24-3.25 pts
51Stark County11.212-3.5 pts
52Greene County11.143+2.29 pts
53Logan County11.016-2.04 pts
54St. Clair County10.827-1.79 pts
55Madison County10.762-3.98 pts
56Stephenson County10.648-3.5 pts
57Peoria County10.632+1.34 pts
58Monroe County10.468+0.28 pts
59Macoupin County10.416-3.24 pts
60Bureau County10.251+0.7 pts
61De Witt County10.174+0.06 pts
62Whiteside County10.168+1.45 pts
63Pike County10.114-0.39 pts
64McDonough County10.088-0.29 pts
65Jo Daviess County10.066+0.33 pts
66Lee County9.976+0.45 pts
67Macon County9.92+0.24 pts
68Winnebago County9.81-1.38 pts
69LaSalle County9.665-0.78 pts
70Clay County9.581-6 pts
71Knox County9.459-0.3 pts
72Marshall County9.344-0.88 pts
73White County9.256-5.76 pts
74Saline County9.252-5.46 pts
75Williamson County9.224-3.06 pts
76Mason County9.188-2.47 pts
77Brown County9.149+5.68 pts
78Vermilion County9.141-0.29 pts
79Hardin County9.115+5.12 pts
80Christian County8.953-1.35 pts
81Cumberland County8.906-17.73 pts
82Randolph County8.895-1.15 pts
83Schuyler County8.77-2.38 pts
84Morgan County8.762-1.97 pts
85Wabash County8.66-4.49 pts
86Sangamon County8.642-0.52 pts
87Pulaski County8.262-3.93 pts
88Clark County8.254-0.21 pts
89Henry County8.223-2.64 pts
90Effingham County8.22-1.89 pts
91Richland County8.112-1.61 pts
92Moultrie County8.045-3.6 pts
93Warren County7.734-0.14 pts
94Jefferson County7.544-0.67 pts
95Massac County7.318-4.56 pts
96Scott County6.983+1.2 pts
97Hamilton County6.863-10.44 pts
98Edgar County6.649-4.71 pts
99Lawrence County6.409-7.46 pts
100Cass County6.219+2.37 pts
101Crawford County5.155-5.77 pts
102Edwards County4.093-1.25 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2018.
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?

Montgomery County, with 23.486% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Edwards County, with 4.093% in 2018.

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