Economy of Illinois facts for kids
Chicago, the largest city in Illinois
|
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| GDP | $1.137 trillion (2024) |
|
GDP per capita
|
$89,475 (2024) |
| 0.469 | |
|
Labor force
|
6,483,999 (August 2023) |
| Unemployment | 4.8% (Feb. 2025) |
| Public finances | |
| Revenues | $29.762 billion |
| Expenses | $19.831 billion |
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The economy of Illinois is super important! It's the fifth biggest economy in the whole United States. This means Illinois produces a lot of goods and services. Its economy is also very diverse, meaning it doesn't rely on just one type of business.
A huge part of Illinois's economy comes from the Chicago metropolitan area. This big city area is home to many of America's largest companies. Some famous ones include McDonald's, Kraft Heinz, and United Airlines. Chicago is also a major global center for money and finance. It has big financial companies like Citadel LLC and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is the world's largest place for trading futures.
Outside of Chicago, other big companies have their main offices in Illinois. For example, State Farm is in Bloomington, and John Deere is in Moline. In 2017, Illinois had the fourth highest number of Fortune 500 companies. These are the 500 largest companies in the U.S. For six years in a row, the Chicago area was the best place for companies to move their offices.
In 2024, Illinois's total economic output, called the gross state product, was $1.132 trillion. This made it fifth in the nation. The average household income in 2021 was $72,205, which is one of the highest in the country. The state makes many things like machinery, food, and electrical equipment. Corn and soybeans are also very important farm products. Important services include financial trading, higher education, shipping, and medicine.
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Farming in Illinois
Most of Illinois is outside the Chicago area. It's part of the North American Corn Belt. This means farmers grow a lot of corn, soybeans, and other big field crops. These crops are a huge part of the state's economy, especially outside Chicago.
Much of the corn and soybeans are used to feed hogs and cattle. Dairy products and wheat are also important crops in some parts of the state. Illinois farmers also grow special crops like popcorn and pumpkins. In fact, Illinois grows the most pumpkins in the U U.S.! There's also a big watermelon growing area near Lincoln, Illinois.
Illinois wine is also a growing business. In 2006, the Shawnee Hills area became Illinois's first special wine-growing region.
Making Things in Illinois (Manufacturing)
Manufacturing means making goods in factories. In Illinois, manufacturing makes up 14% of the state's total economic output. This creates $101 billion in economic activity. Illinois's manufacturing started because of its strong farming.
A very important place for many years was the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. From 1865 to 1971, millions of cattle and hogs were brought there. They were turned into standard cuts of beef and pork.
Illinois's central location made it a key place for manufacturing. This was especially true for farm machinery and special motor vehicles. Smaller cities like Aurora, Peoria, Decatur, and Rockford became big manufacturing centers. In southern Illinois, the John Deere Company grew to be one of the world's largest makers of farm machinery. Caterpillar also became very big, making different kinds of off-road vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Chicago area started making a lot of phone equipment, electronics, steel, cars, and other industrial products.
As of 2004, the top manufacturing industries in Illinois were:
- Chemical manufacturing (like medicines or plastics)
- Food manufacturing (like snacks or packaged meals)
- Machinery manufacturing (like engines or tools)
- Fabricated metal products (like metal parts for other machines)
- Plastics and rubber products
- Transportation equipment (like car parts)
- Computer and electronic products
Clean Energy (Renewable Energy)
Illinois is a leader in renewable energy. This is energy that comes from natural sources like wind and sun. It ranks second in the Midwest for total clean energy power. It's also fifth in the nation for wind power.
The clean energy economy has created 114,000 jobs in Illinois. This number will keep growing. This is thanks to a $15 billion investment from the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016.
In 2019, Governor J. B. Pritzker joined Illinois with the U.S. Climate Alliance. This group works to fight climate change. This will help the state's clean energy economy grow even more.
Important Services
By the early 2000s, Illinois's economy had changed. It started to focus more on high-value services. Services are things people do for others, not making physical products. Examples include:
- Financial trading (buying and selling stocks)
- Higher education (colleges and universities)
- Logistics (managing how goods are moved and stored)
- Medicine (healthcare services)
These services often grew around older businesses or institutions in Illinois. In recent years, the Chicago Metropolitan Area has continued to attract many companies. They either move their main offices there or open new facilities.
Fun for Visitors (Tourism)
Tourism is a big part of Illinois's economy! In 2018, Illinois had a record number of visitors. About 117 million tourists came to the state. This was 3 million more people than the year before. These visitors spent almost $42 billion during their trips.
Illinois Economic Scorecard (Flash Index)
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign has a special tool called the "flash-index." It helps measure how well Illinois's economy is expected to grow. It looks at things like how much money companies earn and how much people spend.
The index uses a base number of 100. If the number is above 100, it means the Illinois economy is growing. If it's below 100, it means the economy is shrinking. You can find this data online if you want to see how Illinois's economy has changed over time.
See also
- Economy of Chicago
- Great Lakes Megalopolis
