Report: Plainfield's Job Market Ranks in Top Quarter of Illinois Cities

PLAINFIELD, IL - On a list that weighs the job-seeker friendliness of 162 Illinois areas, Plainfield lands in the top one-fifth, overall, and the top 25 percent for its job market.

Personal-finance website WalletHub gave the village a total score of 59.78, placing it in the 32nd slot on the overall 2016 Best & Worst Illinois Cities for Jobs list. It ranks 41st for the quality of its job market. Libertyville, the No. 1 city in the overall lineup, earning a total score of 68.35.

Scores consider 16 indicators of labor market health and include factors such as employment growth, median monthly starting salaries and unemployment growth. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with the weighted sum of each city’s individual-metric scores comprising its overall score, which we used to construct the final ranking, according to WalletHub's methodology.

The report also specifies that Plainfield has the highest median annual income at $93,728, which is five times higher than in Carbondale, the city with the lowest, at $19,641. Incomes were adjusted for cost of living, the report says.

Other key findings from the report were:

• Frankfort has the lowest unemployment rate for high school graduates, 2.3 percent, which is 11 times lower than in Harvey, the city with the highest, at 25.5 percent.
• Sterling has the lowest unemployment rate for residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, 0.5 percent, which is 38 times lower than in East St. Louis, the city with the highest, at 18.8 percent.
• Montgomery has the lowest number of part-time employees for every 100 full-time employees, 42.08, which is six times lower than in Carbondale, the city with the highest, with 234.78.

Here is a look at the best, and the worst, Illinois cities for jobs:

Best Illinois Cities for Jobs

1. Libertyville
2. Grayslake
3. Frankfort
4. Northbrook
5. Vernon Hills
6. Schaumburg
7. Deerfield
8. South Elgin
9. Lemont
10. Downers Grove

Worst Illinois Cities for Jobs

• 153: Maywood
• 154: Granite City
• 155: Park Forest
• 156: Chicago Heights
• 157: Carbondale
• 158: Kankakee
• 159: Dolton
• 160: Calumet City
• 161: East St. Louis
• 162: Harvey

Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion have the highest monthly median starting salary, which is adjusted by cost of living, at $3,440.40. This amount is three times higher than in Hinsdale, the city with the lowest, at $1,697, according to WalletHub.
For the full report and to see where your city ranks, visit WalletHub.com.
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