Will County Profile
Will County is well positioned for business growth for the next twenty years. Our strategic location, available and affordable land, tremendous highway, rail, water, and air transportation assets, and more than 200 million square feet of industrial space make us a very desirable location for business and industry. Couple that with a robust, highly skilled local and regional workforce, low property taxes, and a pro-growth attitude among its thirty-seven municipalities Will County is a leading “job growth engine” in the Midwest. Will County has added 45,000 jobs over the last ten years, growing at a rate well above that of the state and the nation. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
With the opening of the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in 2002 Will County established itself as a Global Transportation Center. Since the opening of BNSF Logistics Park Chicago intermodal facility in Elwood and the Union Pacific’s Global IV intermodal center in Joliet, Will County has become the Largest Inland Port in North America, handling over 3.5 million TEU containers annually.
Will County’s status as the largest inland port in North America provides benefits to businesses seeking reliable connections to global markets, reduced transportation costs, and supply chain diversification. In addition to the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics industry cluster, Will County is also focused on recruiting and growing businesses in the Advanced Manufacturing, Food Processing, Energy and Life Sciences industry sectors. Our public and private higher education institutions support this growth by developing programs to meet the needs of employers today and in the future.
In addition:
With the opening of the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in 2002 Will County established itself as a Global Transportation Center. Since the opening of BNSF Logistics Park Chicago intermodal facility in Elwood and the Union Pacific’s Global IV intermodal center in Joliet, Will County has become the Largest Inland Port in North America, handling over 3.5 million TEU containers annually.
Will County’s status as the largest inland port in North America provides benefits to businesses seeking reliable connections to global markets, reduced transportation costs, and supply chain diversification. In addition to the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics industry cluster, Will County is also focused on recruiting and growing businesses in the Advanced Manufacturing, Food Processing, Energy and Life Sciences industry sectors. Our public and private higher education institutions support this growth by developing programs to meet the needs of employers today and in the future.
In addition:
- Will County, covering 850 square miles, is one of 102 counties in Illinois. It is part of the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
- The County’s population more than doubled (adding 349,049 residents) between 1985 and 2010, increasing from 328,511 to 677,560. As of 2019, the County’s population is 690,743. (US Census Bureau)
- The U.S. Census Bureau lists Will County as one of the 100 largest counties by population in the nation, and the 4th most populous county in Illinois.
- The median household income is $90,134, sixth-highest in Illinois (US Census 2019)
- The median home value is $242,285. (Zillow, Dec. 2020)
- In 2019, Will County had a per capita personal income of $53,895, an increase of 3.2% from the previous year. (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
- Between 2000 and 2020, the County added 66,915 single-family housing units. (U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)
- There are 15,093 businesses in the County that employ over 248,575 people. (U.S. Census)
- The total amount of industrial square footage is more than 200 million square feet within 2,000+ buildings. (Costar)
- From 2015 to 2020, jobs increased by 10.2% in Will County from 243,982 to 268,839. This change outpaced the national growth rate of 3.1% by 7.1%. As the number of jobs increased, the labor force participation rate decreased from 66.3% to 59.9% between 2015 and 2020.
- In 2019, 34.3% of the population age 25+ has a bachelor's degree or higher. (U.S. Census)
- Will County is home to a number of higher education institutions: DeVry University, Governors State University, Joliet Junior College, Lewis University, Rasmussen University and University of Saint Francis.
