Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by unemployed people

Chicago, IL had the highest unemployed people of 104 cities in 2021, at 103,459. Edwardsville, IL had the lowest, at 483. The median was 1,055. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest103,459Chicago, IL
Lowest483Edwardsville, IL
Median1,055104 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Chicago, IL: 103,459 personsChicago, IL103,459Rockford, IL: 6,728 personsRockford, IL6,728Joliet, IL: 5,422 personsJoliet, IL5,422Aurora, IL: 5,362 personsAurora, IL5,362Elgin, IL: 4,068 personsElgin, IL4,068Peoria, IL: 4,031 personsPeoria, IL4,031Springfield, IL: 3,624 personsSpringfield, IL3,624Waukegan, IL: 3,516 personsWaukegan, IL3,516Naperville, IL: 3,388 personsNaperville, IL3,388Decatur, IL: 2,785 personsDecatur, IL2,785Cicero, IL: 2,554 personsCicero, IL2,554Champaign, IL: 2,314 personsChampaign, IL2,314Bolingbrook, IL: 2,139 personsBolingbrook, IL2,139Calumet City, IL: 2,065 personsCalumet City, IL2,065Bloomington, IL: 2,038 personsBloomington, IL2,038Berwyn, IL: 2,029 personsBerwyn, IL2,029Schaumburg, IL: 2,014 personsSchaumburg, IL2,014Evanston, IL: 1,895 personsEvanston, IL1,895Oak Lawn, IL: 1,792 personsOak Lawn, IL1,792Skokie, IL: 1,789 personsSkokie, IL1,789Des Plaines, IL: 1,759 personsDes Plaines, IL1,759Palatine, IL: 1,738 personsPalatine, IL1,738Arlington Heights, IL: 1,641 personsArlington Heights, IL1,641Belleville, IL: 1,543 personsBelleville, IL1,543Tinley Park, IL: 1,539 personsTinley Park, IL1,539Orland Park, IL: 1,451 personsOrland Park, IL1,451Carpentersville, IL: 1,447 personsCarpentersville, IL1,447Oak Park, IL: 1,424 personsOak Park, IL1,424Chicago Heights, IL: 1,417 personsChicago Heights, IL1,417Dolton, IL: 1,414 personsDolton, IL1,414DeKalb, IL: 1,409 personsDeKalb, IL1,409Hoffman Estates, IL: 1,372 personsHoffman Estates, IL1,372Romeoville, IL: 1,365 personsRomeoville, IL1,365Lansing, IL: 1,351 personsLansing, IL1,351Streamwood, IL: 1,344 personsStreamwood, IL1,344Maywood, IL: 1,257 personsMaywood, IL1,257Belvidere, IL: 1,250 personsBelvidere, IL1,250Mount Prospect, IL: 1,241 personsMount Prospect, IL1,241Hanover Park, IL: 1,212 personsHanover Park, IL1,212Normal, IL: 1,176 personsNormal, IL1,176Chicago, IL: 103,459 personsChicago, IL103,459Rockford, IL: 6,728 personsRockford, IL6,728Joliet, IL: 5,422 personsJoliet, IL5,422Aurora, IL: 5,362 personsAurora, IL5,362Elgin, IL: 4,068 personsElgin, IL4,068Peoria, IL: 4,031 personsPeoria, IL4,031Springfield, IL: 3,624 personsSpringfield, IL3,624Waukegan, IL: 3,516 personsWaukegan, IL3,516Naperville, IL: 3,388 personsNaperville, IL3,388Decatur, IL: 2,785 personsDecatur, IL2,785Cicero, IL: 2,554 personsCicero, IL2,554Champaign, IL: 2,314 personsChampaign, IL2,314Bolingbrook, IL: 2,139 personsBolingbrook, IL2,139Calumet City, IL: 2,065 personsCalumet City, IL2,065Bloomington, IL: 2,038 personsBloomington, IL2,038Berwyn, IL: 2,029 personsBerwyn, IL2,029Schaumburg, IL: 2,014 personsSchaumburg, IL2,014Evanston, IL: 1,895 personsEvanston, IL1,895Oak Lawn, IL: 1,792 personsOak Lawn, IL1,792Skokie, IL: 1,789 personsSkokie, IL1,789Des Plaines, IL: 1,759 personsDes Plaines, IL1,759Palatine, IL: 1,738 personsPalatine, IL1,738Arlington Heights, IL: 1,641 personsArlington Heights, IL1,641Belleville, IL: 1,543 personsBelleville, IL1,543Tinley Park, IL: 1,539 personsTinley Park, IL1,539Orland Park, IL: 1,451 personsOrland Park, IL1,451Carpentersville, IL: 1,447 personsCarpentersville, IL1,447Oak Park, IL: 1,424 personsOak Park, IL1,424Chicago Heights, IL: 1,417 personsChicago Heights, IL1,417Dolton, IL: 1,414 personsDolton, IL1,414DeKalb, IL: 1,409 personsDeKalb, IL1,409Hoffman Estates, IL: 1,372 personsHoffman Estates, IL1,372Romeoville, IL: 1,365 personsRomeoville, IL1,365Lansing, IL: 1,351 personsLansing, IL1,351Streamwood, IL: 1,344 personsStreamwood, IL1,344Maywood, IL: 1,257 personsMaywood, IL1,257Belvidere, IL: 1,250 personsBelvidere, IL1,250Mount Prospect, IL: 1,241 personsMount Prospect, IL1,241Hanover Park, IL: 1,212 personsHanover Park, IL1,212Normal, IL: 1,176 personsNormal, IL1,176
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Chicago, IL103,459-34.5%
2Rockford, IL6,728-22.5%
3Joliet, IL5,422-34.1%
4Aurora, IL5,362-34.1%
5Elgin, IL4,068-31.1%
6Peoria, IL4,031-27.2%
7Springfield, IL3,624-28.3%
8Waukegan, IL3,516-18%
9Naperville, IL3,388-41.2%
10Decatur, IL2,785-20.7%
11Cicero, IL2,554-34%
12Champaign, IL2,314-22.7%
13Bolingbrook, IL2,139-41.1%
14Calumet City, IL2,065-15.3%
15Bloomington, IL2,038-28.4%
16Berwyn, IL2,029-35.4%
17Schaumburg, IL2,014-42.6%
18Evanston, IL1,895-36.2%
19Oak Lawn, IL1,792-37.3%
20Skokie, IL1,789-47.2%
21Des Plaines, IL1,759-41%
22Palatine, IL1,738-41.3%
23Arlington Heights, IL1,641-43.3%
24Belleville, IL1,543-34.4%
25Tinley Park, IL1,539-42.6%
26Orland Park, IL1,451-41.5%
27Carpentersville, IL1,447-29.3%
28Oak Park, IL1,424-38.1%
29Chicago Heights, IL1,417-13%
30Dolton, IL1,414-18.4%
31DeKalb, IL1,409-23.1%
32Hoffman Estates, IL1,372-44.5%
33Romeoville, IL1,365-39.6%
34Lansing, IL1,351-23.7%
35Streamwood, IL1,344-37.9%
36Maywood, IL1,257-24.4%
37Belvidere, IL1,250-17.2%
38Mount Prospect, IL1,241-45%
39Hanover Park, IL1,212-38.8%
40Normal, IL1,176-28.2%
41Moline, IL1,168-42.1%
42Round Lake Beach, IL1,160-22.9%
43Lombard, IL1,147-42.4%
44Harvey, IL1,125-16.9%
45Downers Grove, IL1,115-39.2%
46Park Forest, IL1,091-22.4%
47Wheeling, IL1,084-39.9%
48Kankakee, IL1,070-15.3%
49Bartlett, IL1,069-42.2%
50Addison, IL1,066-39.6%
50Zion, IL1,066-14.2%
52Wheaton, IL1,060-42.8%
53Glendale Heights, IL1,049-38.4%
54Carol Stream, IL1,034-44.8%
54Urbana, IL1,034-22.8%
56Rock Island, IL1,012-37.8%
57Plainfield, IL1,003-45.3%
58Burbank, IL998-32.9%
59Glenview, IL985-46.4%
60Crystal Lake, IL961-45.8%
61Woodridge, IL952-39.4%
62Buffalo Grove, IL945-45.3%
63Elmhurst, IL939-40.2%
64Danville, IL936-28.5%
65East St. Louis, IL912-20.6%
66Mundelein, IL904-36%
67Elk Grove Village, IL883-45.4%
68Oswego, IL881-41%
69Oak Forest, IL870-38.8%
70Alton, IL857-27.1%
71Pekin, IL850-33.3%
72Galesburg, IL841-24.4%
73Park Ridge, IL833-44.6%
74Niles, IL803-47.3%
75Melrose Park, IL786-32.2%
76Algonquin, IL784-44.6%
77Elmwood Park, IL782-39.4%
78Quincy, IL781-37.2%
79St. Charles, IL777-42.1%
80Lake in the Hills, IL766-45.5%
81North Chicago, IL739-16.8%
82Gurnee, IL733-36.4%
83Carbondale, IL719-23.3%
84Freeport, IL716-22.5%
85Northbrook, IL711-43.6%
86McHenry, IL700-40.4%
87Lockport, IL684-40.3%
88Collinsville, IL676-36.5%
88O'Fallon, IL676-37.6%
90West Chicago, IL667-34.4%
91New Lenox, IL666-42.7%
92Westmont, IL641-38.7%
92Woodstock, IL641-37.8%
94Yorkville, IL640-29.8%
95Batavia, IL613-38.5%
96Granite City, IL609-34%
97Vernon Hills, IL604-43.8%
98Morton Grove, IL601-47.2%
99Glen Ellyn, IL588-41.2%
100Highland Park, IL574-40.8%
101Homer Glen, IL570-43.1%
102Huntley, IL564-42.6%
103Wilmette, IL489-39.2%
104Edwardsville, IL483-37.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

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

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. 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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Illinois by unemployed people, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/illinois-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Illinois by unemployed people using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Chicago, IL, with 103,459 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Edwardsville, IL, with 483 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings