Illinois ranks among the worst in the U.S. for job, wage growth

The state lags in several economic metrics as the governor runs for a third term.

Illinois ranks among the worst in the country on several economic metrics.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is up for re-election Nov. 3.

Population

Illinois still is suffering from people moving out. Since 2018, the state’s has lost more than 168,000 residents, or over 1% of its population.

Illinois ranks 48^th among the 50 states in both population growth rate and total population growth.

Pritzker’s second term has seen a slight uptick, largely because of international migration. Without that boost, Illinois’ population would have declined in 2025. Even so, Illinois ranks only 39^th in population growth rate from 2023 to 2025.

Unemployment

Poor job growth in part explains the large number of Illinoisians who can’t find work. Illinois’ unemployment rate was 5.1% in June, when over 300,000 residents were looking for work. The rate higher than the 4.6% when Pritzker took office in 2019 and considerably higher than the national average of 4.1% in July, which has been typical under Pritzker.

Jobs

From 2018 to 2025, Illinois’ net job growth rate ranks 45^th in the country, 46^th when looking only at the private sector.

The state’s weak job growth comes as no surprise when Illinois has the third-highest corporate tax rate in the country and is among the least tax-competitive states.

Wages

Wages for Illinois workers have risen sluggishly compared with other states, with adjusted hourly wage growth from 2018 to 2025 seventh-slowest in the country.

Illinois is often called a high-income state. That was true before Pritzker took office in 2019, when Illinois workers had the 13^th-highest average hourly wages in the nation, adjusted for the cost of living in each state. But Illinois ranked 26th in 2025.

A questions voters can ask themselves is whether Pritzker’s track record warrants giving him a third term.

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