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Manufacturing Compass

Illinois manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Illinois manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

19,326

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
4.9%

Employment

578,389

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
4.5%

Total wages

$50.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,691

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
+2.9%

Average annual pay

$87,924

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
+2.9%

Location quotient

1.16

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Illinois is 1.16 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
    99,522
    Establishments
    2,196
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,712
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.6%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    85,056
    Establishments
    3,082
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,402
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.6%
    Location quotient
    1.52
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    68,867
    Establishments
    2,188
    Avg. annual pay
    $99,472
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.3%
    Location quotient
    1.60
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    48,137
    Establishments
    680
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,411
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.8%
    Location quotient
    0.70
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    47,894
    Establishments
    1,307
    Avg. annual pay
    $152,135
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +28.7%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    43,168
    Establishments
    806
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,379
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.5%
    Location quotient
    1.54
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    29,343
    Establishments
    1,460
    Avg. annual pay
    $102,519
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −33.1%
    Location quotient
    0.74
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    27,282
    Establishments
    1,845
    Avg. annual pay
    $93,737
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.0%
    Location quotient
    1.14
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    20,928
    Establishments
    578
    Avg. annual pay
    $89,172
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.0%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    20,781
    Establishments
    1,307
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,203
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +16.5%
    Location quotient
    1.50
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    17,524
    Establishments
    346
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,192
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    1.27
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    17,295
    Establishments
    336
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,628
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.2%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,865
    Establishments
    667
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,674
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.8%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,659
    Establishments
    746
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,453
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.7%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,614
    Establishments
    524
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,680
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.0%
    Location quotient
    0.47
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,210
    Establishments
    527
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,309
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.8%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    5,541
    Establishments
    168
    Avg. annual pay
    $138,835
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.8%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,134
    Establishments
    192
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,038
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.8%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,981
    Establishments
    231
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,774
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.0%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    806
    Establishments
    82
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,330
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.4%
    Location quotient
    0.24
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    783
    Establishments
    56
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,675
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.6%
    Location quotient
    0.79

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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