Illinois

Population 12,694,798

6 Sources Updated September 10, 2026

12.7M

Population

334,922,499 U.S.

$83,390

Median Income

$80,734 national

$1,148.1B

GDP (current $), change real

Unemployment

4.0% national

Community Data / United States / Illinois

County Map Demographics Economy Industry Concentration Housing Workforce Counties AI Insights

County Map

Click a county to view its economic profile

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Household

$83,390

Per Capita

$46,406

Mean Household

$115,638

Poverty Rate

11.8%

Age & Race / Ethnicity

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003

Cohorts

Under 18 · 21.8%

18-34 · 22.7%

35-54 · 25.7%

55-64 · 12.8%

65+ · 17%

Race & Ethnicity

White61%

Black or African American13.6%

Two or More Races10.9%

Some Other Race7.9%

Asian6%

American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander0%

Hispanic or Latino(any race)18.8%

Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+

90.5%

High School+

National: 89.6%

+0.9 pts

37.8%

Bachelor's+

National: 35.7%

+2.1 pts

15.3%

Graduate+

National: 14.1%

+1.2 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

12,694,798

Population

6,652,134

Labor Force

Employed

6,263,764

Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2024 annual

2025 is not shown for Illinois: a state annual average needs all 12 months and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published 11. County pages draw on the separate annual series and may show 2025.

Mean Commute 1 min above national avg

27.8 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

15.9%

Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.

Illinois's median household income sits 3% above the national median. At 11.8%, its poverty rate runs 0.7 pts below the ~12.5% national level, relevant for federal funding eligibility narratives. Bachelor's-or-higher attainment of 37.8% exceeds the national average of 35.7%.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates (released December 2025). Figures reflect the most recent Census release, older news reports may cite prior vintages.

Key Takeaways

Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, education, and age.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$1,148.1B

Gross Domestic Product · 2024

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP2 Regional GDP

99.958

Cost of Living - Below Avg

Top Private-Sector Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual · Private sector only, with government shown below

Top private-sector industries by employment in Illinois, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage. Government employment is excluded and reported separately below the table.
Industry	Employment	% of Top Sectors	Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance	865,491	19.3%	$66,133
2Manufacturing	569,734	12.7%	$90,875
3Retail Trade	568,588	12.6%	$43,192
4Accommodation and Food Services	506,314	11.3%	$31,541
5Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	439,915	9.8%	$131,207
6Administrative and Support and Waste Management	393,984	8.8%	$62,547
7Transportation and Warehousing	314,080	7.0%	$70,166
8Finance and Insurance	299,591	6.7%	$166,968
9Wholesale Trade	297,810	6.6%	$109,865
10Construction	240,012	5.3%	$93,904

Government employment · context only

822,556

Public-sector jobs are not in the table above and are not part of any share or location quotient on this page. Both are measured on the private economy only, 5,244,962 private jobs in 2025: every location quotient divides by that total, and the % of Top Sectors column divides by the sectors listed above. Private employment is the standard basis for measuring industry concentration because government employment mostly serves the resident population rather than an outside market. Nothing on this card is expected to add up with the government figure.

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Key Takeaways

Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 865,491 workers (19.3% of the tracked sectors), at an average wage of $66,133. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 822,556 and is counted separately.
Economic scale: State GDP of $1,148.1B (2024).
Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $166,968 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $31,541, a 5.3x spread in the same economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP (CAGDP2).

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Chart source: BLS QCEW · broad NAICS supersector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share. The same supersector axes appear on every profile, so the shape can be compared across geographies.

Concentrated Industries

List source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share.
Same source and same private-sector basis as the Top Industries table above. These sit at a finer level than the chart's supersector axes, so the two sets of values are not directly comparable. The sub-sector view surfaces specialization the supersector view masks, such as Air Transportation here.

Air Transportation

1.81x

40,746

Monetary Authorities - Central Bank

1.73x

1,402

Machinery Manufacturing

1.56x

66,695

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

1.54x

2,037

Attraction Opportunities - Below-Average Industries

LQ < 0.5, below-average employment, screened against industrial power cost. Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector

0.06x

Forestry and Logging

112 employed

0.12x

Support Activities for Mining

1,248 employed

0.16x

Oil and Gas Extraction

725 employed

0.19x

Fishing, Hunting and Trapping

57 employed

0.24x

Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry

3,644 employed

0.26x

Textile Mills

836 employed

0.42x

Pipeline Transportation

930 employed

0.45x

Animal Production and Aquaculture

4,784 employed

Screened on industrial power cost only. Industrial electricity in Illinois costs 10.14¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025). Land area and freight access are not assessed at state level. Source: EIA.

Key Takeaways

Top specialization: Air Transportation concentrates at 1.81x the national norm.
Cluster depth: 4 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base across the state.
Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment.

Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.

Industry Employment Composition

Illinois's Top Sectors by Workforce Share

Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top private supersectors. Hover for exact employment.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064

$263,300

Median Home Value vs 2019

$1,274

Rent/Mo

67.1%

Owner-Occ

7.7%

Vacancy

3.2x

Home Value to Income Ratio

vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents (Statewide)

Renter-household-weighted average across 102 Fair Market Rent areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070

Studio

$1,278/mo$632 to $1,480

1 Bedroom

$1,369/mo$698 to $1,581

2 Bedroom

$1,579/mo$916 to $2,050

3 Bedroom

$2,038/mo$1,098 to $2,819

4 Bedroom

$2,334/mo$1,213 to $2,918

30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,260/mo, from a renter median of $50,420) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.

Measured: 44.5% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 22.9% pay 50% or more.

Key Takeaways

In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
Rent affordability gap: None of the 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $50,420 can pay without cost burden (~$1,260/mo), and 44.5% of renter households are already cost-burdened, 22.9% severely so.

Source: Census ACS housing tables.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301

7,765,245

Working Age (18-64) vs 2019

vs 2019

Mean Commute 1 min above national avg

27.8 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

15.9%

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard

Bachelor's+

37.8%

HS Diploma+

90.5%

6 Largest Institutions by Credentials Awarded

Degrees, certificates, and other credentials awarded last academic year (College Scorecard).

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 15,945/yr

Chamberlain University-Illinois 11,893/yr

Northwestern University 9,725/yr

DeVry University-Illinois 9,399/yr

University of Illinois Chicago 8,607/yr

University of Chicago 7,328/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables

20.9%

55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Same cohort is 12.8% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.

Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+

Management / Professional

43.3%

Service

15.7%

Sales & Office

19.5%

Construction / Maint.

Production / Transport

14.5%

Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 6,263,764 employed workers.

Key Takeaways

Healthy participation: 67.3% of the population aged 18+ is in the labor force, reflecting a steady, available workforce statewide.

Source: ACS workforce data.

County Profiles

102 counties in Illinois

AI Insights

Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 6 federal data sources.

Sample AI Insight

Illinois shows emerging potential for air transportation attraction, with a 1.81x concentration and 40,746 jobs in this sub-sector.

Cluster depth across air transportation, monetary authorities - central bank, and machinery manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk

High

Healthcare Growth Forecast

+4.2% CAGR

Remote Work Migration

67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing

92/100

Life Sciences

84/100

Data Centers

71/100

Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024

BLS QCEW2025

BEA Regional GDP2024

Census CBP2024

HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026

USAspending.govFY2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Illinois, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Illinois?

12,694,798 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Illinois?

$83,390 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Illinois?

5% (2024 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Illinois?

$1,148.1B (BEA CAGDP2 (Regional)).

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