Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate)
East St. Louis, IL had the highest unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate) of 225 cities in 2023, at 15.3%. Columbia, IL had the lowest, at 1%. The median was 4.7% and the figure for Illinois was 5.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Top 40 cities, 2023
Full ranking
Other periods
About this ranking
Unemployed civilians aged 16 and over as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.
An average over five years of survey responses, so it moves slowly. The official monthly and annual rates for states and counties are unemployment_rate, from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
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. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat
MLA 9
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_illinois_by_2023,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Census Bureau
TI - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate), 2023
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/01/29
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate-acs/illinois-cities?period=2023.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b23025.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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 Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate_acs","level":"municipality","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate_acs&level=municipality&within=Illinois&limit=10Questions
Which city has the highest unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate)?
East St. Louis, IL, with 15.3% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which city has the lowest unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate)?
Columbia, IL, with 1% in 2023.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B23025: unemployed as a percentage of the civilian labor force aged 16 and over, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.
Unemployment rate (US five-year survey estimate): other rankings
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