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Manufacturing Compass

Illinois manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Illinois manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Illinois combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

18,807

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
4.9%

Employment

571,465

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
4.5%

Total wages

$48.1 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
4.7%

Average weekly wage

$1,617

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
+5.8%

Average annual pay

$84,097

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
+5.8%

Location quotient

1.14

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Illinois is 1.14 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    89,030
    Establishments
    2,031
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,253
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +24.9%
    Location quotient
    1.33
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    86,766
    Establishments
    3,113
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,265
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.5%
    Location quotient
    1.54
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    69,463
    Establishments
    2,160
    Avg. annual pay
    $93,437
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +15.5%
    Location quotient
    1.59
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    47,668
    Establishments
    1,261
    Avg. annual pay
    $141,283
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +28.7%
    Location quotient
    1.35
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    46,133
    Establishments
    618
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,909
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.5%
    Location quotient
    0.68
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    44,427
    Establishments
    794
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,776
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +30.8%
    Location quotient
    1.51
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    29,117
    Establishments
    1,426
    Avg. annual pay
    $97,746
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −33.3%
    Location quotient
    0.68
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    27,097
    Establishments
    1,768
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,913
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.3%
    Location quotient
    1.10
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    22,435
    Establishments
    1,337
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,706
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.7%
    Location quotient
    1.51
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    20,648
    Establishments
    532
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,296
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.1%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    18,015
    Establishments
    339
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,679
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    0.0%
    Location quotient
    1.26
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    17,599
    Establishments
    339
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,046
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.2%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,511
    Establishments
    666
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,989
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,533
    Establishments
    704
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,695
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.2%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,252
    Establishments
    494
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,343
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.0%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,137
    Establishments
    504
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,868
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.4%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,573
    Establishments
    156
    Avg. annual pay
    $128,783
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.9%
    Location quotient
    1.35
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    3,264
    Establishments
    236
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,293
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.1%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,065
    Establishments
    191
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,593
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.1%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    931
    Establishments
    86
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,007
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.2%
    Location quotient
    0.24
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    804
    Establishments
    54
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,795
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.5%
    Location quotient
    0.77

03By year

Illinois manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Illinois by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022571,465$84,097+5.8%
2023578,638$85,796+3.9%
2024578,389$87,924+2.9%
2025569,734$90,875+1.6%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology