Official Federal Data
DeKalb County, Illinois
FIPS 17037 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Population 100,703
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$70,724 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.5% ▼
Unemployment
4% national
$5.7B ▲
GDP
33% ▲
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
$70,724 ▲
Per Capita
$36,298 ▲
Mean Household
$90,834 ▲
Poverty Rate
14.8% ▼
Median Income Comparison
DeKalb County$70,724
Illinois$83,390
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.6%
18-34 · 31.6%
35-54 · 22.1%
55-64 · 10.8%
65+ · 13.9%
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+
92.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.6 pts
33%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 2.7 pts
13.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 0.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
100,703
Population
55,686
Labor Force
Employed
51,880
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.5% ▼ 0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.3%
Key Takeaways
- Elevated poverty: At 14.8%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Young population: Median age of 33 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 5,322 workers (23.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $63,896.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $5.7B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $80,904 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $22,544, a 3.6x 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
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
2,386
Cluster Employment
3.15x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Truck Transportation
3.28x 1,135
General Merchandise Retailers
3.15x 2,386
Machinery Manufacturing
1.99x 508
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.96x 543
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
1.92x 450
Animal Production and Aquaculture
1.88x 119
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
1.83x 940
Crop Production
1.82x 225
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
1.73x 577
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
1.56x 120
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.18x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
110 employed
0.21x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
128 employed
0.29x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
735 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Truck Transportation concentrates at 3.28x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 10 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
$243,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,049 ▲
Rent/Mo
61.4% ▲
Owner-Occ
5.1% ▼
Vacancy
3.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$947/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,046/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,373/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,825/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,203/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,768/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.4x 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 (~$1,768/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
64,960 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute
26.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
9.3%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.4%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
33% ▲
HS Diploma+
92.2% ▼
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
57,734/yr
15,945/yr
11,893/yr
9,399/yr
8,607/yr
5,976/yr
5,914/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.8%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
34.9%
Service
19.2%
Sales & Office
20.5%
Construction / Maint.
9.2%
Production / Transport
16.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 51,880 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,237 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
DeKalb County shows meaningful potential for truck transportation attraction, with a 3.28x concentration and 1,135 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across truck transportation, general merchandise retailers, and machinery manufacturing 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
Illustrative example
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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 DeKalb County, Illinois, from federal data sources.
What is the population of DeKalb County, Illinois?
100,703 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in DeKalb County, Illinois?
$70,724 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in DeKalb County, Illinois?
4.5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of DeKalb County, Illinois?
$5.7B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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