Official Federal Data
Cook County, Illinois
FIPS 17031 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Population 5,182,090
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$83,498 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.8% ▼
Unemployment
4% national
$546.4B ▲
GDP
42.7% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
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
$83,498 ▲
Per Capita
$49,329 ▲
Mean Household
$120,717 ▲
Poverty Rate
13.5% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Cook County$83,498
Illinois$83,390
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.1%
18-34 · 24.5%
35-54 · 26.3%
55-64 · 12.1%
65+ · 16%
Race & Ethnicity
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+
88.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 1.0 pts
42.7%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +7.0 pts
18%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +3.9 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
5,182,090
Population
2,794,546
Labor Force
Employed
2,597,162
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.8% ▼ 0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.9%
Key Takeaways
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 7.0 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 398,984 workers (20.5% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $66,239.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $546.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $210,665 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $38,093, a 5.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Educational Services Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
88,847
Cluster Employment
1.64x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Air Transportation
4.13x 39,388
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
2.27x 41,666
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar
2.05x 6,152
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.84x 43,837
Educational Services
1.64x 88,847
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
1.55x 15,809
Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation
1.55x 780
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.01x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
67 employed
0.04x
Animal Production and Aquaculture
202 employed
0.07x
Crop Production
592 employed
0.10x
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
317 employed
0.19x
Textile Mills
260 employed
0.25x
Wood Product Manufacturing
1,695 employed
0.27x
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets
100 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Air Transportation concentrates at 4.13x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 7 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$324,500 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,435 ▲
Rent/Mo
57.7% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.7% ▼
Vacancy
3.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,480/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,581/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,781/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,294/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,653/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,087/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.9x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,087/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
3,262,732 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
18.9%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
82.7%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
42.7% ▲
HS Diploma+
88.6% ▲
Local & Area Institutions (within ~40 mi)
Total credentials awarded
52,928/yr ▲
11,893/yr
9,725/yr
9,399/yr
8,607/yr
7,328/yr
5,976/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
46.4%
Service
15.9%
Sales & Office
18.6%
Construction / Maint.
5.6%
Production / Transport
13.4%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 2,597,162 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 local institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 31,017 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Cook County shows meaningful potential for air transportation attraction, with a 4.13x concentration and 39,388 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across air transportation, securities, commodity contracts, investments, and museums, historical sites, and similar creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, 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
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Cook County, Illinois, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Cook County, Illinois?
5,182,090 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Cook County, Illinois?
$83,498 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Cook County, Illinois?
4.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Cook County, Illinois?
$546.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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