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Manufacturing Compass

Illinois manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Illinois manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

19,128

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
4.9%

Employment

578,638

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
4.5%

Total wages

$49.6 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
4.7%

Average weekly wage

$1,650

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
+3.9%

Average annual pay

$85,796

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
+3.9%

Location quotient

1.15

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Illinois is 1.15 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
    94,128
    Establishments
    2,100
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,418
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +25.5%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    86,380
    Establishments
    3,099
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,507
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.5%
    Location quotient
    1.53
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    70,669
    Establishments
    2,168
    Avg. annual pay
    $94,291
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +12.2%
    Location quotient
    1.60
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    48,985
    Establishments
    659
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,958
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.0%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    47,364
    Establishments
    1,280
    Avg. annual pay
    $143,925
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +27.7%
    Location quotient
    1.35
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    44,011
    Establishments
    797
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,331
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +29.7%
    Location quotient
    1.53
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    29,920
    Establishments
    1,456
    Avg. annual pay
    $100,713
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −34.0%
    Location quotient
    0.70
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    26,633
    Establishments
    1,804
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,295
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.5%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    21,852
    Establishments
    1,337
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,695
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +18.5%
    Location quotient
    1.50
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    20,681
    Establishments
    558
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,085
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.0%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    17,725
    Establishments
    347
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,212
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.6%
    Location quotient
    1.26
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    17,671
    Establishments
    328
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,547
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.6%
    Location quotient
    1.21
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,204
    Establishments
    680
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,283
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.0%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,391
    Establishments
    735
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,814
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.2%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,437
    Establishments
    520
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,580
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.1%
    Location quotient
    0.56
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,238
    Establishments
    516
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,093
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    0.44
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,520
    Establishments
    165
    Avg. annual pay
    $131,481
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    1.31
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,164
    Establishments
    199
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,699
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.7%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    3,041
    Establishments
    238
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,920
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.6%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    858
    Establishments
    86
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,868
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.2%
    Location quotient
    0.24
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    766
    Establishments
    57
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,104
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.1%
    Location quotient
    0.74

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/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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