Cook County, IL

Cook County, IL (Illinois) has about 5,182,090 residents. Workers there whose highest education is a bachelor's degree earn a median of $75,331 a year, about 90% more than workers with a high school diploma ($39,646) (Census Bureau, 2020-2024, everyone 25 and over with earnings). Median rent is $1,435 a month and the median home is worth $324,500. This page gathers public data about the county's pay, housing, jobs and health-care access. Counties are listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank places.

Pay by education level

Housing and cost

Jobs and work

Poverty rate by education, adults 25 and over

Share of people with income below the federal poverty level, by the highest education they have completed (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B17003; margins of error at the 90% level in parentheses). A description of who lives here, not a prediction for any person.

What residents with a bachelor’s degree studied

Share of adults 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree, by the field of their first major (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table C15010; the Census Bureau’s own groups, listed in a fixed order, not ranked; margins of error at most 0.4 points). A description of who lives here, not a prediction for any person.

The largest private-sector industries by jobs are health care and social assistance (16%), professional and technical services (11%), hotels and restaurants (10%) (Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; employment in cells Census withholds is not shown).

Pay by industry, 2025

Private-sector jobs and average annual pay by industry, listed alphabetically (MajorPays does not rank industries or places). All industries together, including government: 2,594,810 jobs, average pay $90,477 a year. A row is missing when the Bureau of Labor Statistics withholds it to protect privacy or when there are fewer than 10 jobs.

People and access

Health care access

HRSA's shortage score runs from 0 to 25 (26 for dental); higher means a bigger shortage of providers in a designated area. Highest score in this county: primary care 20, dental 25, mental health 17. Designations can cover part of a county and change over time (Health Resources and Services Administration).

Colleges in this county

104 colleges in the federal directory are located here, listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank colleges. Each name links to the college’s profile.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS directory (HD 2024, county of the campus) and Fall Enrollment 2024 (total headcount). A count of students is the size of the college, not its quality; the Department has not endorsed this presentation.

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Sources: pay by education level, household income, rent, home value, rent burden, commute times, median age, broadband, health insurance, home ownership, college enrollment, working from home and veterans from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (Tables B20004, B15003, B19013, B25064, B25077, B25070, B08303, B01002, B28002, B27010, B25003, B14001, B08301, B21001 and B23006; earnings are published medians for everyone 25 and over with earnings, so they include part-time workers and run lower than full-time figures; median earnings, income, rent and home values are shown only when their margin of error is at most 20%; shares such as rent burden, commutes and broadband are shown only when their margin of error is at most 7 percentage points, and median age only when its margin is at most 20%; rent as a share of bachelor's pay is MajorPays' calculation). Unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2024 annual averages; unemployment by education level (ACS Table B23006) is shown only when its margin of error is at most 2.5 percentage points, so small areas often show none. Jobs per 100 residents, average pay per job and largest industries: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (private-sector, non-farm employers; Census adds noise to protect businesses; jobs are counted where they are located). Income per person: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2023 (model-based estimates with margins of error). Fair market rent: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, fiscal year 2025 (HUD's estimate of gross rent for standard units, generally at the 40th percentile and at the 50th in some areas, set for housing-market areas; it is a program standard, not an average market rent). Pay by industry: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages (jobs covered by unemployment insurance, including government where stated; average annual pay is total wages divided by average jobs, includes bonuses, and is pay per job, not per person; self-employed people are not counted). Home price change: U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual House Price Index for counties (all-transactions index, not seasonally adjusted; it measures how prices of repeat-sale and refinanced single-family homes changed, not the price level; changes are not adjusted for inflation; less reliable for counties with few sales). Recent movers by education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B07009 (adults 25 and over who lived in a different state or abroad one year earlier; shown only when the margin of error is at most 8 points). Poverty by education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B17003 (shown only when each margin of error is at most 8 points). Field of bachelor's degree: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table C15010 (shown only when each margin of error is at most 5 points). Jobs located here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages (jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the county; average pay is total wages divided by jobs and includes bonuses and high earners, so it is not a median or what a graduate earns; figures are revised). Gross domestic product: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, GDP by county, 2024 (current dollars and real growth; revised; areas BEA combines are left out). Residents enrolled in college: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B14001 (people living in the area who are enrolled in college or graduate school, at any school; shown only when the margin of error is at most a quarter of the estimate). Adults 25 to 34 with a bachelor's or higher: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B15001 (shown only when the margin of error is at most 6 points). People ages 18 to 24: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county population by age, vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2020; estimates are revised, and changes can swing widely in college towns). Urban-rural classification: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (1 = most urban, 9 = most rural; a classification of the county, not a measure of quality). Shortage-area scores: U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Professional Shortage Areas (designated area-based designations; designations can cover part of a county). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; none of these agencies has approved or endorsed this presentation. Figures describe a county as a whole, not any person in it. See Data sources for each dataset's terms.