Official Federal Data
Will County, Illinois
FIPS 17197 · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN · Population 701,462
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$109,984 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6% ▼
Unemployment
4% national
$50.3B ▲
GDP
37.5% ▲
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
$109,984 ▲
Per Capita
$47,516 ▲
Mean Household
$134,181 ▲
Poverty Rate
7.3% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Will County$109,984
Illinois$83,390
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.6%
18-34 · 21.1%
35-54 · 27.7%
55-64 · 13%
65+ · 14.6%
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+
91.8%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +2.2 pts
37.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +1.8 pts
14.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +0.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
701,462
Population
380,899
Labor Force
Employed
361,706
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6% ▼ 0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
14.7%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Transportation and Warehousing employs 39,184 workers (18.2% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $56,835.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $50.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $101,741 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $24,818, a 4.1x 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
Transportation & Warehousing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
34,763
Cluster Employment
7.76x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Warehousing and Storage
7.76x 25,357
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
3.75x 705
Health and Personal Care Retailers
2.64x 4,816
Truck Transportation
2.54x 6,464
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
2.33x 2,803
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
2.33x 1,734
Support Activities for Transportation
2.09x 2,942
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
2.07x 7,794
Repair and Maintenance
1.94x 4,873
Food Manufacturing
1.79x 5,477
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.09x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
405 employed
0.10x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
84 employed
0.25x
Accommodation
818 employed
0.27x
Crop Production
244 employed
0.27x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
423 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Warehousing and Storage concentrates at 7.76x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- 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: 7 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
$319,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,462 ▲
Rent/Mo
82.8% ▲
Owner-Occ
3.9% ▼
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
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 (~$2,750/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- High home ownership: 82.8% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,750/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
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
433,631 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
14.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
83.7%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
37.5% ▲
HS Diploma+
91.8% ▲
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
21%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
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
41.3%
Service
14.2%
Sales & Office
20.3%
Construction / Maint.
8.1%
Production / Transport
16.2%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 361,706 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
Will County shows strong potential for warehousing and storage attraction, with a 7.76x concentration and 25,357 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across warehousing and storage, petroleum and coal products manufacturing, and health and personal care retailers 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 Will County, Illinois, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Will County, Illinois?
701,462 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Will County, Illinois?
$109,984 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Will County, Illinois?
4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Will County, Illinois?
$50.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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