The local economy of Illinois and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.7%
+0.4 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Monroe County 2.5%, highest Edwards County 7.0%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,731
+4.1%vs a year ago
5,992,382 jobs at 389,406 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
19,157
+1.3%this year vs last year
Most in Cook County 4,929, Kane County 2,080.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-55,609
-5.5 per 1,000residents
183,451 moved in and 239,060 moved out. Most newcomers came from Indiana.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Illinois gas price
$4.72
+$1.47vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Richland County $4.19, highest Cook County $4.92. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Illinois, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
322K
0.0%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
5.66M
+2.3%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (15.1%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$409.9B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$72,398
Highest sector: Utilities $133,747.
Per employee per year
Share of Illinois's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 413,060 | $24,994 |
| Employment Services | 256,445 | $47,249 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 230,673 | $128,548 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 224,109 | $79,354 |
| Individual and Family Services | 124,936 | $29,118 |
| Offices of Physicians | 109,540 | $108,179 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 105,175 | $133,178 |
| Grocery Stores | 101,491 | $31,002 |
| Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities | 99,557 | $66,764 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 98,298 | $29,965 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 93,566 | $56,167 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 87,720 | $111,019 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $107,000 a year in 22,470 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Illinois, up 4.2% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$107,000
+4.2%vs 2024
Middle half: $85,498 to $138,715.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
22,470
+6.9%vs 2024
49,785 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$123,855
Software Developers, 6,141 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$101,500
+5.8%vs 2024
5,551 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Illinois, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 6,141 | $123,855 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 2,033 | $112,965 |
| Data Scientists | 1,476 | $110,000 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 810 | $89,220 |
| Computer Programmers | 702 | $80,000 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 666 | $97,953 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 549 | $90,000 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 524 | $180,000 |
| Mechanical Engineers | 474 | $100,000 |
| Industrial Engineers | 446 | $98,500 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. CTSH | 730 | 56 |
| Ernst & Young U.S. LLP | 729 | 40 |
| Grandison Management | 609 | 199 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS.NS | 455 | 31 |
| DFS Corporate Services LLC | 383 | 4 |
| Capgemini America, Inc. CAP.PA | 324 | 31 |
| Medline Industries, Inc. | 294 | 33 |
| Caterpillar Inc | 280 | 16 |
| The University of Chicago | 269 | 4 |
| Northwestern University | 221 | 2 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 9,248 | $112,965 | $88,000 to $148,949 |
| Riverwoods | 831 | $116,334 | $106,558 to $140,794 |
| Naperville | 816 | $108,722 | $92,960 to $138,554 |
| Schaumburg | 764 | $106,558 | $88,788 to $127,754 |
| Bloomington | 472 | $100,402 | $86,528 to $112,174 |
| Aurora | 446 | $115,210 | $97,240 to $148,164 |
| Lisle | 360 | $101,132 | $87,548 to $122,626 |
| Peoria | 333 | $97,032 | $77,184 to $130,062 |
| Chillicothe | 312 | $97,032 | $85,405 to $108,620 |
| Deerfield | 303 | $104,728 | $88,150 to $130,354 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Illinois added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Illinois has had 68 declared disasters and emergencies since 1957, 31 of them since 2000, most often Severe Storm. Flood insurance has paid $596.0 million on 52,890 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2008 ($110.9 million).
Declared disasters
31
24 major disasters. Most often Severe Storm (26 since 1957).
Since 2000, all types; 68 since 1957
Flood claims paid
$85.5M
4,421 claims. Biggest year 2008 ($110.9M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
31,088
Average premium $987 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
14
Pike County, latest Aug 15, 2023.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Illinois, 1957 to today
Claims paid in Illinois by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1957
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 101.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook County | 15,260 | $139.8M | 14,382 |
| 2 | DuPage County | 3,607 | $55.6M | 3,831 |
| 3 | Lake County | 2,456 | $28.7M | 2,875 |
| 4 | Winnebago County | 1,729 | $27.3M | 898 |
| 5 | Jersey County | 1,869 | $24.4M | 151 |
| 6 | Peoria County | 2,547 | $23.6M | 480 |
| 7 | Monroe County | 689 | $22.7M | 200 |
| 8 | Will County | 2,295 | $21.1M | 1,729 |
| 9 | Rock Island County | 2,132 | $20.2M | 1,093 |
| 10 | Iroquois County | 840 | $16.9M | 503 |
| 11 | Calhoun County | 1,690 | $16.8M | 137 |
| 12 | Adams County | 374 | $13.7M | 166 |
| 13 | LaSalle County | 680 | $12.7M | 399 |
| 14 | Kane County | 929 | $11.6M | 1,426 |
| 15 | Henderson County | 412 | $11.5M | 99 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Illinois, from official public data.
Official public data lists 14,052 facilities in Illinois with records since 2010, 13,947 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Tialco Aluminum LLC in Chicago Heights ($1,000,000). 317 large facilities reported 71.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, down 13.5% from 2022.
Facilities with records
14,052
13,947 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$1.00M
Tialco Aluminum LLC, Chicago Heights.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
71.8M t
-13.5%vs 2022
317 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
11.5M t
Prairie State Generating Station, Marissa.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Tialco Aluminum LLC Chicago Heights | $1,000,000 | 0 |
| Olin Winchester LLC East Alton | $962,985 | 10 |
| Prairie State Solar LLC Perry County | $884,898 | 0 |
| Swinerton Builders Enfield Township | $884,898 | 0 |
| Newly Weds Foods INC Chicago | $755,000 | 0 |
| River City Diesel East Peoria | $600,000 | 0 |
| Nalco Chemical Company Bedford Park | $571,300 | 5 |
| Abf Freight System-Rockford Rockford | $535,000 | 0 |
| Abf Freight Systems INC Chicago | $535,000 | 0 |
| Abf Freight South Chicago Sauk Village | $535,000 | 0 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Prairie State Generating Station Marissa | 11,456,295 |
| Baldwin Power Plant Baldwin | 6,075,627 |
| Phillips 66 Company Roxana | 4,197,008 |
| Archer Daniels Midland - Decatur - Bioproducts Decatur | 3,819,217 |
| Amerencips Newton Generating Station Newton | 3,469,290 |
| Exxonmobil Oil Corporation Channahon | 2,601,421 |
| Jackson Energy Center Elwood | 2,548,465 |
| Dynegy Kendall Energy, LLC Minooka | 2,395,261 |
| Kincaid Generation, LLC Kincaid | 2,381,917 |
| Citgo Petroleum Corp Romeoville | 1,857,829 |
Large facilities in Illinois, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Illinois, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| LyondellBasell Industries N.v. LYB | 4 | $324K | 268K |
| Dow Inc. DOW | 6 | $300K | - |
| Phillips 66 PSX | 5 | $176K | 4.20M |
| Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM | 14 | $136K | 2.60M |
| 3M Company MMM | 3 | $126K | 637K |
| NRG Energy, Inc. NRG | 6 | $125K | 2.12M |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Illinois, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Illinois is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Illinois, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Illinois was 4.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.3% a year earlier. 6,170,228 people were employed out of a labor force of 6,477,009. Among its counties, Monroe County had the lowest rate (2.5%) and Edwards County the highest (7.0%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Illinois was $1,731 in Q1 2026, up 4.1% from a year earlier, across 5,992,382 jobs at 389,406 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,266 new homes in Illinois in August 2026 (962 single-family and 1,132 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 13,369, up 1.3% from the same months last year, and 19,157 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Cook County (4,929), Kane County (2,080), Champaign County (1,903) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 183,451 people moved to Illinois and 239,060 moved away, a net loss of 55,609 (-5.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Indiana, Florida, California, and most people who left went to Florida, Indiana, Texas.
Regular gasoline in Illinois averaged $4.72 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.47 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.60. Among its counties, Richland County had the lowest regular price ($4.19) and Cook County the highest ($4.92).
Health Care and Social Assistance (857,043 employees), Retail Trade (571,091 employees), Manufacturing (544,438 employees) were the largest sectors in Illinois in 2023. In all, 322,415 business locations employed 5,661,761 people at an average pay of $72,398 a year.
$107,000 a year was the median pay offered in 22,470 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Illinois in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 4.2% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $85,498 to $138,715. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. (730), Ernst & Young U.S. LLP (729), Grandison Management (609), Tata Consultancy Services Limited (455), DFS Corporate Services LLC (383) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Illinois in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (6,141 filings, median $123,855), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (2,033 filings, median $112,965), Data Scientists (1,476 filings, median $110,000) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Illinois in fiscal year 2025.
$116,334 was the median offered pay in Riverwoods, the highest among the Illinois cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (831 filings).
$101,500 a year was the median pay offered in 5,551 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Illinois in fiscal year 2025.
68 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Illinois since 1957, 31 of them since 2000 (24 major disasters). The most common type is Severe Storm (26 declarations).
Pike County, with 14 declarations since 2000, followed by Adams County (12) and Cook County (12). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$596.0 million on 52,890 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2008, with $110.9 million paid on 5,357 claims. Cook County received the most ($139.8 million).
$987 a year in 2025, across 31,088 flood insurance policies in Illinois. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.