Counties in Illinois by unemployment rate

Edwards County had the highest unemployment rate of 102 counties in April 2026, at 11%. Monroe County had the lowest, at 2.6%. The median was 4.2% and the figure for Illinois was 5.1%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lowest2.6Monroe County
Median4.2102 counties
Illinois5.1History

Top 40 counties, April 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Edwards CountyEdwards County: 11 %11Alexander CountyAlexander County: 5.8 %5.8Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 5.8 %5.8Macon CountyMacon County: 5.6 %5.6Pope CountyPope County: 5.4 %5.4Cook CountyCook County: 5.3 %5.3Boone CountyBoone County: 5.2 %5.2Knox CountyKnox County: 5.2 %5.2Vermilion CountyVermilion County: 5.2 %5.2Wayne CountyWayne County: 5.2 %5.2Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 5.2 %5.2Kankakee CountyKankakee County: 5.1 %5.1Peoria CountyPeoria County: 5.1 %5.1Stark CountyStark County: 5 %5Will CountyWill County: 4.9 %4.9LaSalle CountyLaSalle County: 4.8 %4.8Marshall CountyMarshall County: 4.8 %4.8White CountyWhite County: 4.8 %4.8Bureau CountyBureau County: 4.7 %4.7Fayette CountyFayette County: 4.7 %4.7Iroquois CountyIroquois County: 4.7 %4.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 4.7 %4.7Franklin CountyFranklin County: 4.6 %4.6Fulton CountyFulton County: 4.6 %4.6Henry CountyHenry County: 4.6 %4.6Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.6 %4.6Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 4.6 %4.6Perry CountyPerry County: 4.6 %4.6Wabash CountyWabash County: 4.6 %4.6Gallatin CountyGallatin County: 4.5 %4.5Grundy CountyGrundy County: 4.5 %4.5Johnson CountyJohnson County: 4.5 %4.5Kane CountyKane County: 4.5 %4.5Lake CountyLake County: 4.5 %4.5Marion CountyMarion County: 4.5 %4.5McHenry CountyMcHenry County: 4.5 %4.5Rock Island CountyRock Island County: 4.5 %4.5Clark CountyClark County: 4.4 %4.4Logan CountyLogan County: 4.4 %4.4Mercer CountyMercer County: 4.4 %4.4
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesApril 2026 (%)Change on April 2025
1Edwards County11+7.8 pts
2Alexander County5.8+0.3 pts
2Pulaski County5.8+1.2 pts
4Macon County5.6+0.5 pts
5Pope County5.4+1.5 pts
6Cook County5.3+0.6 pts
7Boone County5.2+0.5 pts
7Knox County5.2+1.1 pts
7Vermilion County5.2+0.6 pts
7Wayne County5.2+2 pts
7Winnebago County5.2+0.5 pts
12Kankakee County5.1+0.4 pts
12Peoria County5.1+0.5 pts
14Stark County5+0.4 pts
15Will County4.9+0.5 pts
16LaSalle County4.8+0.2 pts
16Marshall County4.8+0.4 pts
16White County4.8+1.1 pts
19Bureau County4.7+0.3 pts
19Fayette County4.7+0.9 pts
19Iroquois County4.7+0.6 pts
19Jefferson County4.7+0.8 pts
23Franklin County4.6+0.5 pts
23Fulton County4.6+0.9 pts
23Henry County4.6+0.1 pts
23Jackson County4.6+0.9 pts
23Lawrence County4.6+1.1 pts
23Perry County4.6+0.6 pts
23Wabash County4.6+1.6 pts
30Gallatin County4.5+0.8 pts
30Grundy County4.5+0.1 pts
30Johnson County4.5+0.6 pts
30Kane County4.5+0.5 pts
30Lake County4.5+0.4 pts
30Marion County4.5+0.7 pts
30McHenry County4.5+0.4 pts
30Rock Island County4.5+0.1 pts
38Clark County4.4+0.5 pts
38Logan County4.4+0.3 pts
38Mercer County4.40 pts
38Scott County4.4+0.2 pts
42Calhoun County4.3+0.7 pts
42Carroll County4.3+0.3 pts
42DeKalb County4.3+0.6 pts
42Lee County4.3+0.6 pts
42Ogle County4.3+0.5 pts
42Putnam County4.30 pts
42Tazewell County4.3+0.7 pts
42Whiteside County4.3+0.6 pts
50Christian County4.2+0.7 pts
50DuPage County4.2+0.4 pts
50Kendall County4.2+0.6 pts
50Macoupin County4.2+0.7 pts
50Mason County4.2+0.5 pts
50Saline County4.2+0.4 pts
50St. Clair County4.2+0.6 pts
50Union County4.2+0.6 pts
58Edgar County4.1+1 pts
58Hardin County4.1-0.7 pts
58Montgomery County4.1+0.4 pts
58Sangamon County4.1+0.5 pts
58Schuyler County4.1+0.2 pts
58Warren County4.1+0.5 pts
64Cass County4+0.3 pts
64Clay County4+0.2 pts
64Hamilton County4+0.4 pts
64McDonough County4+0.6 pts
64Menard County4+0.7 pts
64Pike County4+0.4 pts
64Stephenson County40 pts
71Bond County3.9+0.9 pts
71Champaign County3.9+0.8 pts
71Richland County3.9+1 pts
74Morgan County3.8+0.6 pts
74Williamson County3.8+0.4 pts
76De Witt County3.7+0.3 pts
76Ford County3.7+0.3 pts
76Jo Daviess County3.7+0.4 pts
76Madison County3.7+0.6 pts
76Massac County3.7+0.5 pts
76McLean County3.7+0.6 pts
82Livingston County3.6+0.3 pts
82Shelby County3.6+0.6 pts
84Jersey County3.5+0.5 pts
85Coles County3.4+0.5 pts
85Greene County3.4+0.2 pts
85Randolph County3.4+0.3 pts
85Washington County3.4+0.5 pts
85Woodford County3.4+0.6 pts
90Crawford County3.3+0.1 pts
90Cumberland County3.3+0.6 pts
90Douglas County3.3+0.4 pts
90Effingham County3.3+0.5 pts
90Hancock County3.3+0.2 pts
90Henderson County3.3-0.8 pts
90Jasper County3.3+0.6 pts
90Moultrie County3.3+0.3 pts
98Adams County3.1+0.4 pts
98Piatt County3.1+0.3 pts
100Clinton County3+0.6 pts
101Brown County2.9+0.4 pts
102Monroe County2.6+0.4 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.

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 Counties in Illinois by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Illinois&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Edwards County, with 11% in April 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Monroe County, with 2.6% 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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings