{"h1":"Best cities for junior jobs in Illinois","faq":[{"a":"Rockford leads Illinois for junior jobs: 39% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 26% across all cities in our data.","q":"Which city ranks first: best cities for junior jobs in illinois?"},{"a":"17 cities have at least 100 openings, so the list has 17 entries.","q":"How many cities are ranked?"},{"a":"A city's score is the share of its open professional roles tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. Internships are left out. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Rockford leads Illinois for junior jobs: 39% of its professional openings are entry-level or early-career, against 26% across all cities in our data.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":145,"bar":1,"key":"IL|rockford","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/rockford","name":"Rockford","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"57"},{"label":"All openings","value":"145"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"20%"}],"value":0.3931034482758621,"change":null,"employers":["RTX","Woodward","Top Echelon Network (recruiter member boards)"],"valueLabel":"39%"},{"n":167,"bar":0.9596596281121966,"key":"IL|peoria","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/peoria","name":"Peoria","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"63"},{"label":"All openings","value":"167"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"23%"}],"value":0.3772455089820359,"change":null,"employers":["Osf Healthcare System","Caterpillar","Nexstar Media Group"],"valueLabel":"38%"},{"n":323,"bar":0.9529629026125686,"key":"IL|springfield","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/springfield","name":"Springfield","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"121"},{"label":"All openings","value":"323"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"32%"}],"value":0.3746130030959752,"change":null,"employers":["State of Illinois","Army National Guard Units","Hshs Medical Group"],"valueLabel":"37%"},{"n":196,"bar":0.9344790547798066,"key":"IL|naperville","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/naperville","name":"Naperville","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"72"},{"label":"All openings","value":"196"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"24%"}],"value":0.3673469387755102,"change":null,"employers":["KeHE","viaPhoton","Wipfli"],"valueLabel":"37%"},{"n":242,"bar":0.9145280556763811,"key":"IL|schaumburg","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/schaumburg","name":"Schaumburg","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"87"},{"label":"All openings","value":"242"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"30%"}],"value":0.359504132231405,"change":null,"employers":["Motorola Solutions","Fictiv","Zurich"],"valueLabel":"36%"},{"n":255,"bar":0.8778809769521844,"key":"IL|mundelein","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/mundelein","name":"Mundelein","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"88"},{"label":"All openings","value":"255"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"31%"}],"value":0.3450980392156863,"change":null,"employers":["Coda Search│Staffing"],"valueLabel":"35%"},{"n":109,"bar":0.7934975052309674,"key":"IL|evanston","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/evanston","name":"Evanston","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"34"},{"label":"All openings","value":"109"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"24%"}],"value":0.3119266055045872,"change":null,"employers":["Northwestern University","UL Standards & Engagement","Prime Healthcare"],"valueLabel":"31%"},{"n":148,"bar":0.7734708392603129,"key":"IL|oak brook","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/oak-brook","name":"Oak Brook","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"45"},{"label":"All openings","value":"148"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"20%"}],"value":0.3040540540540541,"change":null,"employers":["Hub Group","Sotera Health"],"valueLabel":"30%"},{"n":133,"bar":0.7459438068856351,"key":"IL|aurora","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/aurora","name":"Aurora","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"39"},{"label":"All openings","value":"133"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"18%"}],"value":0.2932330827067669,"change":null,"employers":["Entegris","HelloFresh"],"valueLabel":"29%"},{"n":192,"bar":0.7154605263157895,"key":"IL|northbrook","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/northbrook","name":"Northbrook","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"54"},{"label":"All openings","value":"192"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"16%"}],"value":0.28125,"change":null,"employers":["UL Solutions","Astellas (ADP)","Medline Industries"],"valueLabel":"28%"},{"n":147,"bar":0.588375701157656,"key":"IL|downers grove","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/downers-grove","name":"Downers Grove","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"34"},{"label":"All openings","value":"147"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"15%"}],"value":0.2312925170068027,"change":null,"employers":["Zachry","Regal Rexnord","Glanbia"],"valueLabel":"23%"},{"n":8033,"bar":0.5570333776679967,"key":"IL|chicago","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/chicago","name":"Chicago","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"1,759"},{"label":"All openings","value":"8,033"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"27%"}],"value":0.2189717415660401,"change":null,"employers":["Publicis Groupe","Confidential","Mars"],"valueLabel":"22%"},{"n":153,"bar":0.5486756105951153,"key":"IL|oakbrook terrace","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/oakbrook-terrace","name":"Oakbrook Terrace","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"33"},{"label":"All openings","value":"153"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"7%"}],"value":0.2156862745098039,"change":null,"employers":["Baltimore Gas and Electric","Pepco Holdings","Exelon"],"valueLabel":"22%"},{"n":102,"bar":0.4987960096319229,"key":"IL|rosemont","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/rosemont","name":"Rosemont","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"20"},{"label":"All openings","value":"102"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"9%"}],"value":0.196078431372549,"change":null,"employers":["Reyes Holdings","Regal Rexnord","US Foods"],"valueLabel":"20%"},{"n":131,"bar":0.4854693986875586,"key":"IL|lisle","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/lisle","name":"Lisle","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"25"},{"label":"All openings","value":"131"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"14%"}],"value":0.1908396946564886,"change":null,"employers":["Navistar","International Institute For Sustainable Development","International Motors"],"valueLabel":"19%"},{"n":283,"bar":0.4854007811047052,"key":"IL|rolling meadows","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/rolling-meadows","name":"Rolling Meadows","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"54"},{"label":"All openings","value":"283"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"3%"}],"value":0.1908127208480565,"change":null,"employers":["Arthur J. Gallagher","Gallagher Bassett","Gallagher"],"valueLabel":"19%"},{"n":111,"bar":0.4125177809388336,"key":"IL|lake forest","sub":"IL","href":"/places/illinois/city/lake-forest","name":"Lake Forest","rank":17,"stats":[{"label":"Entry-level openings","value":"18"},{"label":"All openings","value":"111"},{"label":"Openings with pay posted","value":"16%"}],"value":0.1621621621621622,"change":null,"employers":["W.W. Grainger","Reynolds Consumer Products","Novolex"],"valueLabel":"16%"}],"slug":"best-cities-for-junior-jobs-in-illinois","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"illinois","kind":"state","name":"Illinois"},"title":"Best cities for junior jobs in Illinois","family":"Entry-level","method":["A city's score is the share of its open professional roles tagged entry-level or early-career, read from the full posting text.","Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted. Internships are left out.","A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"junior","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":{"label":"all cities in our data","valueLabel":"26%"},"keyFacts":["#1 Rockford, IL: 39%","#2 Peoria, IL: 38%","#3 Springfield, IL: 37%","17 cities ranked in Illinois","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"cities","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: Rockford leads on 39%, and #10 Northbrook is at 28%.","Springfield is the largest market in the top ten, with 323 openings behind its figure.","Cities with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-junior-jobs-in-illinois"}