The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Shelby County is a county of Illinois with 20,720 residents. Its economy produced $1,098 million in 2024 (ranked #60 of 102 counties) and had 4,848 jobs with an average annual pay of $48,311 (#73 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.3% in 2026M09.
Shelby County produced about $1,098 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 0.1% of the combined output of the 102 counties of Illinois that BEA reports (about 0.2% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 60th of 102 on that measure. Per resident that is $52,972, 41% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $90,439. In current dollars output grew 2.0% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 4,848 jobs located in Shelby County on average in 2024, spread over 468 employer sites (about 10 jobs per site). That is 0.23 jobs for every resident, below the 0.33 of the typical county in Illinois, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $48,311, 36% below the average of all counties in the state ($48,311 against $75,660). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs fell 0.3% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are manufacturing (29.8% of private jobs, $66,441 a year on average), health care and social assistance (16.3% of private jobs, $40,030 a year on average), retail trade (15.6% of private jobs, $32,066 a year on average). Together they hold 61.7% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $73,718 a year, followed by wholesale trade ($69,305). The county is specialised in an industry: manufacturing (2.8 times the US share, 1,102 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($32,066), accommodation and food services ($18,113). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Shelby County was 3.3%, 21% below the average of the state's counties (3.3% against 4.2%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 10,490. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.1% (2026M07) to 5.1% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $72,095 (ACS 2020–2024), 14% below the state median ($72,095 against $83,390). None of the largest places of the guide has this as its main county, which usually means a smaller or more rural county; the figures above still describe the whole county.
Counties close to Shelby County in output are Saline County, Ford County, Warren County, Edgar County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 102 counties of Illinois ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 20,720 | 56 of 102 |
| GDP 2024 | $1,098 million | 60 of 102 |
| GDP per resident | $52,972 | 59 of 102 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 4,848 | 67 of 102 |
| Average annual pay | $48,311 | 73 of 102 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -0.3% | 69 of 102 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.3% | 23 of 102 |
| Median household income | $72,095 | 34 of 102 |
Federal jobs in Illinois (1,066) →All cities of IllinoisState guide: Illinois
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
None of the 100 largest places of Illinois has this as its main county, so the guide has no city page here. County figures on the other tabs are complete.
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,102 | 29.8% | $66,441 | 2.77 |
| Health care and social assistance | 604 | 16.3% | $40,030 | 0.87 |
| Retail trade | 576 | 15.6% | $32,066 | 1.19 |
| Accommodation and food services | 340 | 9.2% | $18,113 | 0.77 |
| Professional and technical services | 275 | 7.4% | $73,718 | 0.82 |
| Construction | 197 | 5.3% | $47,669 | 0.77 |
| Wholesale trade | 183 | 5.0% | $69,305 | 0.96 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 146 | 4.0% | $39,774 | 1.00 |
| Finance and insurance | 137 | 3.7% | $57,888 | 0.70 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 75 | 2.0% | $23,608 | 0.92 |
| Educational services | 31 | 0.8% | $24,181 | 0.31 |
| Real estate and rental | 17 | 0.5% | $35,575 | 0.23 |
| Information | 13 | 0.4% | $26,779 | 0.14 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 10,490 |
| Employed residents | 10,148 |
| Unemployed residents | 342 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.3% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 4,848 |
| Employer sites | 468 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 5,182,090 | $546,441 million | $105,448 | 2,565,567 | $86,931 | 4.7% |
| DuPage County | 930,024 | $129,734 million | $139,495 | 622,113 | $79,674 | 3.8% |
| Lake County | 714,223 | $82,869 million | $116,027 | 329,354 | $91,042 | 3.6% |
| Will County | 701,462 | $50,333 million | $71,754 | 263,673 | $60,570 | 4.2% |
| Kane County | 517,255 | $37,058 million | $71,644 | 213,795 | $62,791 | 3.6% |
| McHenry County | 312,591 | $15,983 million | $51,130 | 96,922 | $55,107 | 3.8% |
| Winnebago County | 283,292 | $18,798 million | $66,355 | 126,415 | $59,400 | 4.5% |
| Madison County | 264,238 | $16,575 million | $62,729 | 105,166 | $57,153 | 3.4% |
| Saint Clair County | 253,694 | $16,131 million | $63,586 | 89,981 | $57,001 | 3.8% |
| Champaign County | 208,741 | $15,450 million | $74,013 | 94,777 | $64,216 | 3.6% |
| Sangamon County | 194,947 | $15,669 million | $80,374 | 134,376 | $69,350 | 3.6% |
| Peoria County | 179,645 | $16,966 million | $94,443 | 103,940 | $74,778 | 4.2% |
| McLean County | 171,556 | $16,910 million | $98,570 | 88,945 | $66,183 | 3.3% |
| Rock Island County | 142,757 | $12,607 million | $88,312 | 70,119 | $72,332 | 5.4% |
| Kendall County | 137,675 | $5,408 million | $39,283 | 30,329 | $51,205 | 3.6% |
| Tazewell County | 130,290 | $7,835 million | $60,138 | 46,883 | $56,089 | 3.6% |
| La Salle County | 108,714 | $7,670 million | $70,553 | 39,242 | $58,537 | 4.2% |
| Kankakee County | 106,635 | $8,529 million | $79,982 | 42,231 | $55,890 | 4.2% |
| Macon County | 101,849 | $9,054 million | $88,893 | 45,051 | $67,788 | 5.0% |
| DeKalb County | 100,703 | $5,661 million | $56,218 | 36,272 | $56,896 | 3.6% |
| Vermilion County | 72,386 | $4,180 million | $57,748 | 25,748 | $54,579 | 4.5% |
| Williamson County | 66,876 | $3,987 million | $59,613 | 28,465 | $53,081 | 3.6% |
| Adams County | 64,754 | $4,661 million | $71,982 | 32,154 | $54,986 | 2.9% |
| Whiteside County | 54,947 | $2,978 million | $54,194 | 21,197 | $54,164 | 3.8% |
| Boone County | 53,230 | $1,975 million | $37,102 | 11,526 | $55,414 | 4.0% |
| Grundy County | 53,219 | $6,044 million | $113,561 | 22,349 | $69,868 | 3.9% |
| Jackson County | 53,064 | $3,297 million | $62,141 | 25,266 | $56,398 | 4.2% |
| Ogle County | 51,495 | $3,853 million | $74,831 | 14,934 | $58,187 | 3.5% |
| Knox County | 49,046 | $2,449 million | $49,926 | 17,106 | $46,491 | 4.3% |
| Henry County | 48,643 | $2,048 million | $42,096 | 13,805 | $50,950 | 4.1% |
| Coles County | 46,777 | $3,509 million | $75,014 | 23,930 | $52,987 | 3.0% |
| Macoupin County | 44,350 | $1,525 million | $34,392 | 10,150 | $46,689 | 3.6% |
| Stephenson County | 43,768 | $2,485 million | $56,782 | 17,367 | $55,932 | 3.8% |
| Woodford County | 38,312 | $1,783 million | $46,547 | 11,428 | $54,993 | 2.9% |
| Franklin County | 37,323 | $1,362 million | $36,490 | 9,079 | $46,819 | 4.5% |
| Marion County | 37,000 | $1,758 million | $47,509 | 12,409 | $49,266 | 4.2% |
| Clinton County | 36,954 | $1,581 million | $42,770 | 12,592 | $50,189 | 2.7% |
| Jefferson County | 36,550 | $2,434 million | $66,594 | 19,307 | $57,833 | 4.4% |
| Livingston County | 35,565 | $2,895 million | $81,398 | 13,762 | $56,455 | 3.2% |
| Monroe County | 35,036 | $1,345 million | $38,401 | 8,442 | $48,706 | 2.6% |
| Effingham County | 34,522 | $3,084 million | $89,340 | 23,242 | $53,064 | 2.9% |
| Lee County | 33,869 | $2,173 million | $64,169 | 12,375 | $58,453 | 3.7% |
| Christian County | 33,538 | $1,970 million | $58,733 | 9,353 | $51,042 | 3.5% |
| Morgan County | 33,021 | $2,062 million | $62,431 | 13,936 | $53,188 | 3.6% |
| Fulton County | 33,020 | $1,138 million | $34,473 | 8,642 | $44,887 | 3.7% |
| Bureau County | 32,866 | $1,598 million | $48,617 | 10,032 | $53,297 | 4.0% |
| Randolph County | 30,058 | $2,023 million | $67,287 | 11,393 | $55,632 | 3.1% |
| Montgomery County | 27,942 | $2,021 million | $72,321 | 8,783 | $83,351 | 3.7% |
| Logan County | 27,713 | $1,344 million | $48,484 | 7,878 | $53,750 | 3.8% |
| McDonough County | 26,920 | $1,455 million | $54,053 | 10,119 | $48,433 | 3.6% |
| Iroquois County | 26,449 | $1,425 million | $53,876 | 7,372 | $50,100 | 3.9% |
| Saline County | 23,213 | $1,123 million | $48,363 | 8,307 | $46,586 | 3.7% |
| Jo Daviess County | 21,851 | $1,138 million | $52,101 | 7,485 | $46,804 | 2.9% |
| Fayette County | 21,315 | $770 million | $36,142 | 5,030 | $45,171 | 3.9% |
| Jersey County | 21,274 | $673 million | $31,632 | 5,218 | $45,258 | 3.1% |
| Shelby County | 20,720 | $1,098 million | $52,972 | 4,848 | $48,311 | 3.3% |
| Perry County | 20,639 | $873 million | $42,314 | 4,622 | $50,313 | 4.2% |
| Douglas County | 19,751 | $1,440 million | $72,917 | 7,643 | $54,270 | 3.0% |
| Crawford County | 18,511 | $1,657 million | $89,518 | 7,487 | $61,683 | 3.4% |
| Hancock County | 17,281 | $824 million | $47,707 | 4,144 | $45,832 | 3.0% |
| Union County | 16,997 | $533 million | $31,345 | 5,377 | $45,223 | 3.7% |
| Bond County | 16,716 | $781 million | $46,736 | 4,511 | $50,963 | 3.8% |
| Piatt County | 16,695 | $719 million | $43,073 | 3,707 | $46,937 | 2.8% |
| Edgar County | 16,535 | $1,039 million | $62,837 | 7,065 | $54,835 | 3.7% |
| Warren County | 16,447 | $1,097 million | $66,712 | 6,368 | $45,522 | 3.6% |
| Wayne County | 15,973 | $679 million | $42,536 | 4,064 | $42,917 | 4.0% |
| Richland County | 15,598 | $834 million | $53,482 | 5,834 | $50,035 | 3.3% |
| Carroll County | 15,576 | $761 million | $48,887 | 3,955 | $46,933 | 3.4% |
| Mercer County | 15,495 | $590 million | $38,054 | 2,968 | $43,706 | 3.9% |
| De Witt County | 15,373 | $1,629 million | $105,948 | 5,008 | $67,169 | 3.1% |
| Clark County | 15,266 | $715 million | $46,866 | 4,392 | $45,606 | 3.9% |
| Lawrence County | 15,031 | $661 million | $43,987 | 4,016 | $51,158 | 3.9% |
| Pike County | 14,469 | $825 million | $56,990 | 3,881 | $47,124 | 3.5% |
| Moultrie County | 14,424 | $981 million | $68,011 | 5,140 | $51,569 | 3.0% |
| Massac County | 13,865 | $509 million | $36,703 | 2,858 | $53,753 | 3.6% |
| Washington County | 13,627 | $1,259 million | $92,357 | 6,126 | $60,403 | 2.9% |
| White County | 13,619 | $724 million | $53,188 | 4,205 | $49,671 | 3.8% |
| Ford County | 13,406 | $1,119 million | $83,434 | 5,727 | $55,831 | 3.3% |
| Johnson County | 13,376 | $329 million | $24,588 | 2,439 | $58,740 | 4.3% |
| Clay County | 13,052 | $699 million | $53,584 | 4,625 | $50,797 | 3.6% |
| Cass County | 12,784 | $884 million | $69,113 | 5,143 | $51,068 | 3.5% |
| Mason County | 12,745 | $634 million | $49,728 | 2,828 | $42,271 | 3.6% |
| Menard County | 12,095 | $364 million | $30,109 | 1,773 | $42,242 | 3.4% |
| Greene County | 11,683 | $431 million | $36,880 | 2,275 | $42,061 | 3.2% |
| Marshall County | 11,647 | $687 million | $58,949 | 2,765 | $47,124 | 3.9% |
| Wabash County | 11,119 | $451 million | $40,563 | 3,376 | $50,640 | 3.9% |
| Cumberland County | 10,334 | $1,828 million | $176,891 | 2,893 | $47,709 | 2.6% |
| Jasper County | 9,180 | $646 million | $70,332 | 2,186 | $47,286 | 2.6% |
| Hamilton County | 7,916 | $478 million | $60,419 | 2,057 | $54,483 | 3.9% |
| Schuyler County | 6,787 | $346 million | $50,982 | 1,715 | $52,053 | 3.7% |
| Brown County | 6,322 | $624 million | $98,708 | 4,791 | $64,340 | 2.7% |
| Henderson County | 6,193 | $224 million | $36,244 | 1,150 | $37,040 | 3.2% |
| Edwards County | 6,075 | $321 million | $52,774 | 1,933 | $43,778 | 6.3% |
| Putnam County | 5,601 | $428 million | $76,389 | 2,012 | $69,607 | 3.6% |
| Stark County | 5,308 | $340 million | $64,057 | 1,696 | $60,314 | 3.8% |
| Pulaski County | 5,015 | $223 million | $44,411 | 1,195 | $45,329 | 5.2% |
| Scott County | 4,937 | $208 million | $42,089 | 920 | $49,729 | 3.1% |
| Alexander County | 4,875 | $273 million | $56,096 | 888 | $50,443 | 5.5% |
| Gallatin County | 4,819 | $173 million | $35,805 | 874 | $51,088 | 4.0% |
| Calhoun County | 4,330 | $131 million | $30,268 | 743 | $36,322 | 3.7% |
| Pope County | 3,739 | $85 million | $22,755 | 643 | $41,535 | 5.3% |
| Hardin County | 3,605 | $125 million | $34,812 | 767 | $46,177 | 4.0% |
20,720 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$1,098 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.3% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
4,848 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $48,311 (BLS QCEW).