Data / Rankings / Unemployment rate / Cities in Illinois

Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate

Dolton, IL had the highest unemployment rate of 104 cities in April 2026, at 8.9%. Quincy, IL had the lowest, at 3.3%. The median was 4.5% and the figure for Illinois was 5.1%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest8.9Dolton, IL
Lowest3.3Quincy, IL
Median4.5104 cities
Illinois5.1History

Top 40 cities, April 2026

Dolton, IL: 8.9 %Dolton, IL8.9Maywood, IL: 8.7 %Maywood, IL8.7Chicago Heights, IL: 8 %Chicago Heights, IL8Harvey, IL: 7.1 %Harvey, IL7.1Calumet City, IL: 7 %Calumet City, IL7East St. Louis, IL: 6.8 %East St. Louis, IL6.8Park Forest, IL: 6.8 %Park Forest, IL6.8Lansing, IL: 6.7 %Lansing, IL6.7Kankakee, IL: 6.5 %Kankakee, IL6.5Decatur, IL: 6.3 %Decatur, IL6.3Round Lake Beach, IL: 6.1 %Round Lake Beach, IL6.1Danville, IL: 5.9 %Danville, IL5.9Joliet, IL: 5.9 %Joliet, IL5.9Rockford, IL: 5.9 %Rockford, IL5.9Carpentersville, IL: 5.8 %Carpentersville, IL5.8Burbank, IL: 5.6 %Burbank, IL5.6Elgin, IL: 5.6 %Elgin, IL5.6Galesburg, IL: 5.6 %Galesburg, IL5.6Belvidere, IL: 5.5 %Belvidere, IL5.5Melrose Park, IL: 5.4 %Melrose Park, IL5.4Peoria, IL: 5.4 %Peoria, IL5.4Berwyn, IL: 5.3 %Berwyn, IL5.3Chicago, IL: 5.3 %Chicago, IL5.3Hanover Park, IL: 5.3 %Hanover Park, IL5.3North Chicago, IL: 5.3 %North Chicago, IL5.3Oak Lawn, IL: 5.3 %Oak Lawn, IL5.3Cicero, IL: 5.2 %Cicero, IL5.2Elmwood Park, IL: 5.2 %Elmwood Park, IL5.2Waukegan, IL: 5.2 %Waukegan, IL5.2Carbondale, IL: 5.1 %Carbondale, IL5.1Oak Park, IL: 5 %Oak Park, IL5Romeoville, IL: 5 %Romeoville, IL5Streamwood, IL: 5 %Streamwood, IL5Zion, IL: 5 %Zion, IL5Addison, IL: 4.9 %Addison, IL4.9Oak Forest, IL: 4.9 %Oak Forest, IL4.9Bolingbrook, IL: 4.8 %Bolingbrook, IL4.8DeKalb, IL: 4.8 %DeKalb, IL4.8Alton, IL: 4.7 %Alton, IL4.7Morton Grove, IL: 4.7 %Morton Grove, IL4.7Dolton, IL: 8.9 %Dolton, IL8.9Maywood, IL: 8.7 %Maywood, IL8.7Chicago Heights, IL: 8 %Chicago Heights, IL8Harvey, IL: 7.1 %Harvey, IL7.1Calumet City, IL: 7 %Calumet City, IL7East St. Louis, IL: 6.8 %East St. Louis, IL6.8Park Forest, IL: 6.8 %Park Forest, IL6.8Lansing, IL: 6.7 %Lansing, IL6.7Kankakee, IL: 6.5 %Kankakee, IL6.5Decatur, IL: 6.3 %Decatur, IL6.3Round Lake Beach, IL: 6.1 %Round Lake Beach, IL6.1Danville, IL: 5.9 %Danville, IL5.9Joliet, IL: 5.9 %Joliet, IL5.9Rockford, IL: 5.9 %Rockford, IL5.9Carpentersville, IL: 5.8 %Carpentersville, IL5.8Burbank, IL: 5.6 %Burbank, IL5.6Elgin, IL: 5.6 %Elgin, IL5.6Galesburg, IL: 5.6 %Galesburg, IL5.6Belvidere, IL: 5.5 %Belvidere, IL5.5Melrose Park, IL: 5.4 %Melrose Park, IL5.4Peoria, IL: 5.4 %Peoria, IL5.4Berwyn, IL: 5.3 %Berwyn, IL5.3Chicago, IL: 5.3 %Chicago, IL5.3Hanover Park, IL: 5.3 %Hanover Park, IL5.3North Chicago, IL: 5.3 %North Chicago, IL5.3Oak Lawn, IL: 5.3 %Oak Lawn, IL5.3Cicero, IL: 5.2 %Cicero, IL5.2Elmwood Park, IL: 5.2 %Elmwood Park, IL5.2Waukegan, IL: 5.2 %Waukegan, IL5.2Carbondale, IL: 5.1 %Carbondale, IL5.1Oak Park, IL: 5 %Oak Park, IL5Romeoville, IL: 5 %Romeoville, IL5Streamwood, IL: 5 %Streamwood, IL5Zion, IL: 5 %Zion, IL5Addison, IL: 4.9 %Addison, IL4.9Oak Forest, IL: 4.9 %Oak Forest, IL4.9Bolingbrook, IL: 4.8 %Bolingbrook, IL4.8DeKalb, IL: 4.8 %DeKalb, IL4.8Alton, IL: 4.7 %Alton, IL4.7Morton Grove, IL: 4.7 %Morton Grove, IL4.7
%. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCitiesApril 2026 (%)Change on April 2025
1Dolton, IL8.9+1.2 pts
2Maywood, IL8.7+0.8 pts
3Chicago Heights, IL8+0.9 pts
4Harvey, IL7.1+0.2 pts
5Calumet City, IL7+0.7 pts
6East St. Louis, IL6.8+0.7 pts
6Park Forest, IL6.8+0.3 pts
8Lansing, IL6.7+1.1 pts
9Kankakee, IL6.50 pts
10Decatur, IL6.3+0.5 pts
11Round Lake Beach, IL6.1+0.1 pts
12Danville, IL5.9+0.6 pts
12Joliet, IL5.9+0.7 pts
12Rockford, IL5.9+0.5 pts
15Carpentersville, IL5.8+0.3 pts
16Burbank, IL5.6+0.3 pts
16Elgin, IL5.6+0.4 pts
16Galesburg, IL5.6+1.3 pts
19Belvidere, IL5.5+0.5 pts
20Melrose Park, IL5.4+0.6 pts
20Peoria, IL5.4+0.6 pts
22Berwyn, IL5.3+0.3 pts
22Chicago, IL5.3+0.5 pts
22Hanover Park, IL5.3+0.4 pts
22North Chicago, IL5.3+0.9 pts
22Oak Lawn, IL5.3+0.5 pts
27Cicero, IL5.2+0.2 pts
27Elmwood Park, IL5.2+0.6 pts
27Waukegan, IL5.2+0.3 pts
30Carbondale, IL5.1+0.8 pts
31Oak Park, IL5+0.8 pts
31Romeoville, IL5+0.7 pts
31Streamwood, IL5+0.2 pts
31Zion, IL5-0.5 pts
35Addison, IL4.9+0.5 pts
35Oak Forest, IL4.9+0.4 pts
37Bolingbrook, IL4.8+0.5 pts
37DeKalb, IL4.8+0.8 pts
39Alton, IL4.7+0.9 pts
39Morton Grove, IL4.7+1 pts
39Pekin, IL4.7+0.5 pts
39Tinley Park, IL4.7+0.8 pts
43Des Plaines, IL4.6+0.5 pts
43Northbrook, IL4.6+1 pts
43Rock Island, IL4.6+0.1 pts
43Springfield, IL4.6+0.7 pts
43Woodstock, IL4.6+0.2 pts
48Aurora, IL4.5+0.5 pts
48Evanston, IL4.5+0.6 pts
48Freeport, IL4.5+0.1 pts
48Lake in the Hills, IL4.5+0.3 pts
48Mundelein, IL4.5+0.5 pts
48Schaumburg, IL4.5+0.5 pts
48Skokie, IL4.5+0.5 pts
48West Chicago, IL4.5+0.4 pts
56Elk Grove Village, IL4.4+0.1 pts
56Elmhurst, IL4.4+0.7 pts
56Glendale Heights, IL4.4+0.4 pts
56Granite City, IL4.4+0.7 pts
56Hoffman Estates, IL4.4+0.6 pts
56Huntley, IL4.4+0.8 pts
56Lombard, IL4.4+0.5 pts
56Moline, IL4.4+0.4 pts
56Niles, IL4.4+0.5 pts
65Crystal Lake, IL4.3+0.4 pts
65Palatine, IL4.3+0.4 pts
65Plainfield, IL4.3+0.9 pts
65Wheeling, IL4.3+0.4 pts
69Algonquin, IL4.2+0.6 pts
69Belleville, IL4.2+0.3 pts
69Glenview, IL4.2+0.6 pts
69Homer Glen, IL4.2+0.2 pts
69Lockport, IL4.2+0.4 pts
69McHenry, IL4.2+0.5 pts
69Orland Park, IL4.2+0.3 pts
69Vernon Hills, IL4.2+1 pts
69Westmont, IL4.2+0.6 pts
69Wilmette, IL4.2+0.5 pts
69Woodridge, IL4.2+0.5 pts
80Glen Ellyn, IL4.1+0.3 pts
80Mount Prospect, IL4.1+0.6 pts
80New Lenox, IL4.1+0.3 pts
80Park Ridge, IL4.1+0.5 pts
84Arlington Heights, IL4+0.3 pts
84Bartlett, IL4+0.1 pts
84Buffalo Grove, IL4+0.6 pts
84Carol Stream, IL4+0.4 pts
84Downers Grove, IL4+0.3 pts
84Gurnee, IL4+0.5 pts
84Oswego, IL4+0.7 pts
84Urbana, IL4+0.8 pts
84Wheaton, IL4+0.4 pts
93Champaign, IL3.9+0.7 pts
93Highland Park, IL3.9+0.7 pts
93Naperville, IL3.9+0.4 pts
93St. Charles, IL3.9+0.8 pts
97Bloomington, IL3.8+0.5 pts
98Yorkville, IL3.7+0.3 pts
99Batavia, IL3.6+0.3 pts
99Normal, IL3.6+0.6 pts
101Collinsville, IL3.5+0.4 pts
101O'Fallon, IL3.5+0.5 pts
103Edwardsville, IL3.3+0.5 pts
103Quincy, IL3.3+0.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over.
  • EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74.
  • United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states, counties and cities.
  • United Kingdom regions: Labour Force Survey, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted.
  • Canada: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the country and the provinces.
  • Australia: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the nation and the six states; the ABS publishes no seasonally adjusted series for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • New Zealand: Household Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted for the country and not seasonally adjusted for regional council areas.
  • Norway: Statistics Norway Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted monthly figures.
  • Sweden: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted and smoothed (the series Statistics Sweden gives in its monthly release), national.
  • Switzerland: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), ILO definition, permanent resident population aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, national.
  • For other countries, the source may be OECD survey-based rates, annual survey-based rates compiled by the ILO in ILOSTAT, or annual ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank.
  • ILO modelled estimates cover ages 15 and over.
  • The World series uses those ILO modelled estimates.

Survey-based for national and Eurostat series. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states, US counties, US cities (those of 25,000 or more and smaller New England cities), United Kingdom regions, Canadian provinces, Australia and its six states, New Zealand with 10 of its regions, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (national), not Spanish municipalities. For Spanish municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate.

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 rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. 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 rate (measure 03) (Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04. 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 rate (measure 03). Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_illinois_by_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. 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 rate (measure 03): Cities in Illinois by unemployment rate, 2026-04
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.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/illinois-cities?period=2026-04.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployment rate?

Dolton, IL, with 8.9% in April 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployment rate?

Quincy, IL, with 3.3% in April 2026.

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 rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Cities in Illinois: more rankings