Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by job creation rate

Wayne County had the highest job creation rate of 102 counties in 2022, at 25.077%. Edwards County had the lowest, at 2.942%. The median was 13.909% and the figure for Illinois was 16.173%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest25.077Wayne County
Lowest2.942Edwards County
Median13.909102 counties
Illinois16.173History

Map of counties, 2022

Adams County: 13.761 %Alexander County: 9.114 %Bond County: 10.317 %Boone County: 10.909 %Brown County: 10.574 %Bureau County: 8.042 %Calhoun County: 16.453 %Carroll County: 12.897 %Cass County: 6.085 %Champaign County: 14.895 %Christian County: 12.772 %Clark County: 12.935 %Clay County: 8.163 %Clinton County: 15.677 %Coles County: 9.698 %Cook County: 17.78 %Crawford County: 14.488 %Cumberland County: 11.41 %DeKalb County: 14.443 %De Witt County: 10.404 %Douglas County: 14.382 %DuPage County: 14.939 %Edgar County: 8.783 %Edwards County: 2.942 %Effingham County: 18.248 %Fayette County: 14.388 %Ford County: 10.688 %Franklin County: 14.683 %Fulton County: 17.672 %Gallatin County: 14.606 %Greene County: 15.969 %Grundy County: 15.508 %Hamilton County: 14.779 %Hancock County: 15.924 %Hardin County: 9.707 %Henderson County: 18.154 %Henry County: 9.166 %Iroquois County: 13.151 %Jackson County: 18.252 %Jasper County: 13.186 %Jefferson County: 10.424 %Jersey County: 11.585 %Jo Daviess County: 20.479 %Johnson County: 20.957 %Kane County: 16.029 %Kankakee County: 11.165 %Kendall County: 14.213 %Knox County: 12.267 %Lake County: 13.659 %LaSalle County: 11.952 %Lawrence County: 4.697 %Lee County: 13.111 %Livingston County: 10.913 %Logan County: 10.997 %McDonough County: 14.729 %McHenry County: 16.247 %McLean County: 16.353 %Macon County: 16.583 %Macoupin County: 11.592 %Madison County: 15.613 %Marion County: 12.256 %Marshall County: 20.578 %Mason County: 13.666 %Massac County: 10.536 %Menard County: 17.533 %Mercer County: 19.068 %Monroe County: 14.202 %Montgomery County: 16.034 %Morgan County: 16.263 %Moultrie County: 9.749 %Ogle County: 11.031 %Peoria County: 14.299 %Perry County: 12.103 %Piatt County: 10.597 %Pike County: 14.877 %Pope County: 14.919 %Pulaski County: 16.222 %Putnam County: 7.937 %Randolph County: 12.606 %Richland County: 10.64 %Rock Island County: 15.476 %St. Clair County: 15.563 %Saline County: 14.057 %Sangamon County: 15.071 %Schuyler County: 10.291 %Scott County: 15.584 %Shelby County: 10.476 %Stark County: 16.951 %Stephenson County: 11.485 %Tazewell County: 15.39 %Union County: 16.88 %Vermilion County: 11.381 %Wabash County: 21.785 %Warren County: 10.316 %Washington County: 7.542 %Wayne County: 25.077 %White County: 11.971 %Whiteside County: 10.449 %Will County: 17.116 %Williamson County: 19.373 %Winnebago County: 14.201 %Woodford County: 10.919 %
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%, 2022. 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, 2022

Wayne County: 25.077 %Wayne County25.077Wabash County: 21.785 %Wabash County21.785Johnson County: 20.957 %Johnson County20.957Marshall County: 20.578 %Marshall County20.578Jo Daviess County: 20.479 %Jo Daviess County20.479Williamson County: 19.373 %Williamson County19.373Mercer County: 19.068 %Mercer County19.068Jackson County: 18.252 %Jackson County18.252Effingham County: 18.248 %Effingham County18.248Henderson County: 18.154 %Henderson County18.154Cook County: 17.78 %Cook County17.78Fulton County: 17.672 %Fulton County17.672Menard County: 17.533 %Menard County17.533Will County: 17.116 %Will County17.116Stark County: 16.951 %Stark County16.951Union County: 16.88 %Union County16.88Macon County: 16.583 %Macon County16.583Calhoun County: 16.453 %Calhoun County16.453McLean County: 16.353 %McLean County16.353Morgan County: 16.263 %Morgan County16.263McHenry County: 16.247 %McHenry County16.247Pulaski County: 16.222 %Pulaski County16.222Montgomery County: 16.034 %Montgomery County16.034Kane County: 16.029 %Kane County16.029Greene County: 15.969 %Greene County15.969Hancock County: 15.924 %Hancock County15.924Clinton County: 15.677 %Clinton County15.677Madison County: 15.613 %Madison County15.613Scott County: 15.584 %Scott County15.584St. Clair County: 15.563 %St. Clair County15.563Grundy County: 15.508 %Grundy County15.508Rock Island County: 15.476 %Rock Island County15.476Tazewell County: 15.39 %Tazewell County15.39Sangamon County: 15.071 %Sangamon County15.071DuPage County: 14.939 %DuPage County14.939Pope County: 14.919 %Pope County14.919Champaign County: 14.895 %Champaign County14.895Pike County: 14.877 %Pike County14.877Hamilton County: 14.779 %Hamilton County14.779McDonough County: 14.729 %McDonough County14.729Wayne County: 25.077 %Wayne County25.077Wabash County: 21.785 %Wabash County21.785Johnson County: 20.957 %Johnson County20.957Marshall County: 20.578 %Marshall County20.578Jo Daviess County: 20.479 %Jo Daviess County20.479Williamson County: 19.373 %Williamson County19.373Mercer County: 19.068 %Mercer County19.068Jackson County: 18.252 %Jackson County18.252Effingham County: 18.248 %Effingham County18.248Henderson County: 18.154 %Henderson County18.154Cook County: 17.78 %Cook County17.78Fulton County: 17.672 %Fulton County17.672Menard County: 17.533 %Menard County17.533Will County: 17.116 %Will County17.116Stark County: 16.951 %Stark County16.951Union County: 16.88 %Union County16.88Macon County: 16.583 %Macon County16.583Calhoun County: 16.453 %Calhoun County16.453McLean County: 16.353 %McLean County16.353Morgan County: 16.263 %Morgan County16.263McHenry County: 16.247 %McHenry County16.247Pulaski County: 16.222 %Pulaski County16.222Montgomery County: 16.034 %Montgomery County16.034Kane County: 16.029 %Kane County16.029Greene County: 15.969 %Greene County15.969Hancock County: 15.924 %Hancock County15.924Clinton County: 15.677 %Clinton County15.677Madison County: 15.613 %Madison County15.613Scott County: 15.584 %Scott County15.584St. Clair County: 15.563 %St. Clair County15.563Grundy County: 15.508 %Grundy County15.508Rock Island County: 15.476 %Rock Island County15.476Tazewell County: 15.39 %Tazewell County15.39Sangamon County: 15.071 %Sangamon County15.071DuPage County: 14.939 %DuPage County14.939Pope County: 14.919 %Pope County14.919Champaign County: 14.895 %Champaign County14.895Pike County: 14.877 %Pike County14.877Hamilton County: 14.779 %Hamilton County14.779McDonough County: 14.729 %McDonough County14.729
%. 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

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Wayne County25.077+15.36 pts
2Wabash County21.785+13.97 pts
3Johnson County20.957+10.88 pts
4Marshall County20.578+8.92 pts
5Jo Daviess County20.479+7.84 pts
6Williamson County19.373+7.85 pts
7Mercer County19.068+10.67 pts
8Jackson County18.252+9.07 pts
9Effingham County18.248+8.41 pts
10Henderson County18.154+6.83 pts
11Cook County17.78+7.17 pts
12Fulton County17.672+3.42 pts
13Menard County17.533+1.85 pts
14Will County17.116+3.94 pts
15Stark County16.951+4.76 pts
16Union County16.88+3.06 pts
17Macon County16.583+10.93 pts
18Calhoun County16.453+7.62 pts
19McLean County16.353+8.21 pts
20Morgan County16.263+7.78 pts
21McHenry County16.247+5.42 pts
22Pulaski County16.222+0.84 pts
23Montgomery County16.034+7.41 pts
24Kane County16.029+4.69 pts
25Greene County15.969+8.23 pts
26Hancock County15.924+6.99 pts
27Clinton County15.677+4.28 pts
28Madison County15.613+3.47 pts
29Scott County15.584+8.6 pts
30St. Clair County15.563+5.83 pts
31Grundy County15.508+5.57 pts
32Rock Island County15.476+7.01 pts
33Tazewell County15.39+7.25 pts
34Sangamon County15.071+5 pts
35DuPage County14.939+4.1 pts
36Pope County14.919-15.28 pts
37Champaign County14.895+5.23 pts
38Pike County14.877+3.15 pts
39Hamilton County14.779+5.49 pts
40McDonough County14.729+3.08 pts
41Franklin County14.683+3.4 pts
42Gallatin County14.606+5.69 pts
43Crawford County14.488+5.44 pts
44DeKalb County14.443+4.3 pts
45Fayette County14.388-1.8 pts
46Douglas County14.382+2.69 pts
47Peoria County14.299+6.84 pts
48Kendall County14.213+0.05 pts
49Monroe County14.202+1.7 pts
50Winnebago County14.201+7.57 pts
51Saline County14.057+3.68 pts
52Adams County13.761+4.92 pts
53Mason County13.666+4.31 pts
54Lake County13.659+4.09 pts
55Jasper County13.186+0.45 pts
56Iroquois County13.151+0.35 pts
57Lee County13.111+6.14 pts
58Clark County12.935+1.52 pts
59Carroll County12.897+6.93 pts
60Christian County12.772+4.08 pts
61Randolph County12.606+7.04 pts
62Knox County12.267+4.49 pts
63Marion County12.256+2.55 pts
64Perry County12.103+5.93 pts
65White County11.971+3.78 pts
66LaSalle County11.952+3.41 pts
67Macoupin County11.592+1.88 pts
68Jersey County11.585-1.27 pts
69Stephenson County11.485+3.54 pts
70Cumberland County11.41+0.2 pts
71Vermilion County11.381+3.78 pts
72Kankakee County11.165+3.38 pts
73Ogle County11.031+0.55 pts
74Logan County10.997+4.06 pts
75Woodford County10.919+1.59 pts
76Livingston County10.913+1.4 pts
77Boone County10.909+4.3 pts
78Ford County10.688+2.96 pts
79Richland County10.64+3.6 pts
80Piatt County10.597-3.27 pts
81Brown County10.574+7.23 pts
82Massac County10.536+6.12 pts
83Shelby County10.476+3.2 pts
84Whiteside County10.449+1.28 pts
85Jefferson County10.424-0.91 pts
86De Witt County10.404+2.11 pts
87Bond County10.317-2.68 pts
88Warren County10.316+4.55 pts
89Schuyler County10.291-0.04 pts
90Moultrie County9.749-0.74 pts
91Hardin County9.707-3.18 pts
92Coles County9.698-3.44 pts
93Henry County9.166+0.62 pts
94Alexander County9.114+0.04 pts
95Edgar County8.783+1.27 pts
96Clay County8.163+1.07 pts
97Bureau County8.042+0.64 pts
98Putnam County7.937-12.69 pts
99Washington County7.542-2.64 pts
100Cass County6.085+2.15 pts
101Lawrence County4.697-1.62 pts
102Edwards County2.942-5.28 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/illinois-counties?period=2022.
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?

Wayne County, with 25.077% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Edwards County, with 2.942% in 2022.

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