Employment was unchanged in 2 of the 13 largest counties in Illinois from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Illinois employment was essentially unchanged over the year at 5,992,400 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that Winnebago County (-1.7 percent) had the largest over-the-year change in employment. (See chart 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Illinois, March 2026

County	Percent change, March 2026
Winnebago	-1.7
Kane	-1.5
St. Clair	-1.1
Lake	-1.0
Champaign	-0.8
McLean	-0.5
DuPage	-0.3
Peoria	-0.3
Sangamon	-0.1
Cook	0.0
Madison	0.0
McHenry	0.5
Will	1.1

Cook County (2,569,900) had the highest employment level in Illinois in March 2026. Together, the 13 largest counties accounted for 80.1 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.)

Average weekly wage gains in 8 of the 13 large counties in Illinois were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Peoria had the largest gain (+6.9 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 12 large Illinois counties ranged from 6.2 percent to 1.9 percent.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Illinois, first quarter 2026

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
Peoria	6.9
McLean	6.2
Winnebago	5.7
DuPage	5.6
St. Clair	5.2
Cook	3.8
Kane	3.5
Sangamon	3.2
Lake	2.9
McHenry	2.9
Madison	2.6
Will	2.3
Champaign	1.9

Weekly wages in 4 of the 13 largest counties in Illinois were above the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,226 in Lake to $1,104 in McHenry.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 4.1 percent over the year to $1,731. Illinois ranked 9th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 16th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 89 smaller counties in Illinois, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average. Macon reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,559) among small counties. Calhoun reported the lowest average weekly wage ($729) in the state.

Among all 102 Illinois counties, 14 reported average weekly wages less than $900, 22 had wages from $900 to $999, 23 had wages from $1,000 to $1,099, 22 had wages from $1,100 to $1,199, and 21 had average weekly wages of $1,200 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)