Counties in Illinois by unemployment rate, August 2026

Edwards County had the highest unemployment rate of 102 counties in August 2026, at 7%. Monroe County had the lowest, at 2.5%. The median was 3.8% and the figure for Illinois was 4.7%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lowest2.5Monroe County
Median3.8102 counties
Illinois4.7History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Edwards CountyEdwards County: 7 %7Cook CountyCook County: 5.9 %5.9Alexander CountyAlexander County: 5.6 %5.6Pope CountyPope County: 5.3 %5.3Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 5.2 %5.2Macon CountyMacon County: 5.1 %5.1Will CountyWill County: 5.1 %5.1Grundy CountyGrundy County: 4.9 %4.9DuPage CountyDuPage County: 4.7 %4.7McHenry CountyMcHenry County: 4.7 %4.7Vermilion CountyVermilion County: 4.7 %4.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 4.6 %4.6Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 4.6 %4.6Johnson CountyJohnson County: 4.5 %4.5Peoria CountyPeoria County: 4.5 %4.5Franklin CountyFranklin County: 4.4 %4.4Knox CountyKnox County: 4.4 %4.4LaSalle CountyLaSalle County: 4.4 %4.4Perry CountyPerry County: 4.4 %4.4Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.3 %4.3Kankakee CountyKankakee County: 4.3 %4.3Wayne CountyWayne County: 4.3 %4.3Boone CountyBoone County: 4.2 %4.2Hardin CountyHardin County: 4.2 %4.2Marion CountyMarion County: 4.2 %4.2Clark CountyClark County: 4.1 %4.1Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 4.1 %4.1McDonough CountyMcDonough County: 4.1 %4.1Bureau CountyBureau County: 4 %4Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 4 %4Rock Island CountyRock Island County: 4 %4Saline CountySaline County: 4 %4Champaign CountyChampaign County: 3.9 %3.9Fayette CountyFayette County: 3.9 %3.9Fulton CountyFulton County: 3.9 %3.9Gallatin CountyGallatin County: 3.9 %3.9Iroquois CountyIroquois County: 3.9 %3.9Marshall CountyMarshall County: 3.9 %3.9Putnam CountyPutnam County: 3.9 %3.9St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 3.9 %3.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Edwards County Provisional7+2.4 pts
2Cook County Provisional5.9+1.2 pts
3Alexander County Provisional5.6-2.2 pts
4Pope County Provisional5.3-1 pts
5Pulaski County Provisional5.2-1.4 pts
6Macon County Provisional5.1-1 pts
6Will County Provisional5.1+0.8 pts
8Grundy County Provisional4.9+0.8 pts
9DuPage County Provisional4.7+0.9 pts
9McHenry County Provisional4.7+1 pts
9Vermilion County Provisional4.7-1.4 pts
12Jefferson County Provisional4.6-0.6 pts
12Winnebago County Provisional4.6-1 pts
14Johnson County Provisional4.5-0.9 pts
14Peoria County Provisional4.5-0.9 pts
16Franklin County Provisional4.4-0.8 pts
16Knox County Provisional4.4-1.2 pts
16LaSalle County Provisional4.4-1.2 pts
16Perry County Provisional4.4-0.8 pts
20Jackson County Provisional4.3-0.9 pts
20Kankakee County Provisional4.3-1.3 pts
20Wayne County Provisional4.3-0.5 pts
23Boone County Provisional4.2-1 pts
23Hardin County Provisional4.2-2 pts
23Marion County Provisional4.2-0.9 pts
26Clark County Provisional4.1-0.7 pts
26Lawrence County Provisional4.1-0.9 pts
26McDonough County Provisional4.1-0.9 pts
29Bureau County Provisional4-1.1 pts
29Hamilton County Provisional4-0.8 pts
29Rock Island County Provisional4-1.4 pts
29Saline County Provisional4-0.9 pts
33Champaign County Provisional3.9-1 pts
33Fayette County Provisional3.9-1 pts
33Fulton County Provisional3.9-0.7 pts
33Gallatin County Provisional3.9-1.5 pts
33Iroquois County Provisional3.9-0.9 pts
33Marshall County Provisional3.9-1.1 pts
33Putnam County Provisional3.9-0.8 pts
33St. Clair County Provisional3.9-1 pts
33Stephenson County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
33Wabash County Provisional3.9-0.3 pts
33White County Provisional3.9-1.1 pts
44Bond County Provisional3.8-0.7 pts
44Edgar County Provisional3.8-0.4 pts
44Kane County Provisional3.8-0.9 pts
44Kendall County Provisional3.8-0.7 pts
44Lake County Provisional3.8-0.8 pts
44Logan County Provisional3.8-1.2 pts
44Macoupin County Provisional3.8-1 pts
44Sangamon County Provisional3.8-0.9 pts
44Stark County Provisional3.8-1.2 pts
44Whiteside County Provisional3.8-1.1 pts
54Calhoun County Provisional3.7-1.4 pts
54DeKalb County Provisional3.7-1 pts
54Henry County Provisional3.7-1.4 pts
54Lee County Provisional3.7-0.9 pts
54Mason County Provisional3.7-1.1 pts
54Massac County Provisional3.7-0.9 pts
54Montgomery County Provisional3.7-1 pts
54Tazewell County Provisional3.7-0.9 pts
54Union County Provisional3.7-0.8 pts
63Clay County Provisional3.6-1.5 pts
63Ford County Provisional3.6-1.1 pts
63Mercer County Provisional3.6-1.2 pts
63Ogle County Provisional3.6-1 pts
63Warren County Provisional3.6-1.1 pts
63Williamson County Provisional3.6-0.9 pts
69Christian County Provisional3.5-0.9 pts
69Crawford County Provisional3.5-0.8 pts
69Madison County Provisional3.5-0.9 pts
69Morgan County Provisional3.5-0.7 pts
69Pike County Provisional3.5-1.3 pts
69Schuyler County Provisional3.5-1 pts
75Carroll County Provisional3.4-1.3 pts
75Cass County Provisional3.4-1.4 pts
75McLean County Provisional3.4-0.9 pts
75Richland County Provisional3.4-0.7 pts
79De Witt County Provisional3.3-0.5 pts
79Jersey County Provisional3.3-0.7 pts
79Menard County Provisional3.3-0.7 pts
82Coles County Provisional3.2-1.1 pts
82Douglas County Provisional3.2-0.8 pts
82Livingston County Provisional3.2-1 pts
82Piatt County Provisional3.2-1 pts
82Randolph County Provisional3.2-1 pts
87Greene County Provisional3.1-0.8 pts
87Hancock County Provisional3.1-1 pts
87Shelby County Provisional3.1-0.9 pts
90Henderson County Provisional3-1.1 pts
90Jo Daviess County Provisional3-0.6 pts
90Moultrie County Provisional3-1.2 pts
90Scott County Provisional3-1.4 pts
90Woodford County Provisional3-0.9 pts
95Adams County Provisional2.9-0.8 pts
95Effingham County Provisional2.9-0.8 pts
95Washington County Provisional2.9-0.6 pts
98Jasper County Provisional2.8-1 pts
99Clinton County Provisional2.7-0.8 pts
99Cumberland County Provisional2.7-0.8 pts
101Brown County Provisional2.6-0.6 pts
102Monroe County Provisional2.5-0.8 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. 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 and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Edwards County, with 7% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Monroe County, with 2.5% in August 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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings