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Pope, Pulaski and Menard counties posted the highest percentage increases in Illinois business applications last year when compared with 2018, according to data released this month from the Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics (BFS).
Business applications in Pope County in 2019 were up 500 percent; Pulaski County, 129 percent; and Menard County, 86 percent, the BFS data showed. Overall, Illinois as a whole saw an increase of only 0.39 percent in new business formations over the same period.
BFS state data for the third quarter of 2020 showed a large spike in new businesses forming nationwide. More than 1.5 million applications were recorded among all the states, a 77 percent increase over the second quarter, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the BFS data shows.
And for the week ending Nov. 21, Illinois reported a year-over-year increase in business applications of 41.5 percent, well above the national average for that time period (33 percent).
For the 2019-to-2018 county comparisons, De Witt, Gallatin and Hardin counties posted the biggest declines in business applications. The counties recorded decreases of 48 percent or more, according to the Census Bureau’s numbers.
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Changes in Illinois County Business Applications, 2018-2019
| County | Level of Business Applications in 2018 | Level of Business Applications in 2019 | % Change From 2018 to 2019 | Rank |
| Pope County | 3 | 18 | 500.00% | 1 |
| Pulaski County | 14 | 32 | 128.57% | 2 |
| Menard County | 36 | 67 | 86.11% | 3 |
| Macon County | 426 | 578 | 35.68% | 4 |
| McDonough County | 71 | 96 | 35.21% | 5 |
| Macoupin County | 155 | 203 | 30.97% | 6 |
| Wabash County | 34 | 44 | 29.41% | 7 |
| Union County | 62 | 80 | 29.03% | 8 |
| White County | 59 | 75 | 27.12% | 9 |
| Mercer County | 60 | 74 | 23.33% | 10 |
| Christian County | 107 | 128 | 19.63% | 11 |
| Grundy County | 245 | 293 | 19.59% | 12 |
| Clark County | 78 | 93 | 19.23% | 13 |
| Logan County | 96 | 114 | 18.75% | 14 |
| Bureau County | 113 | 133 | 17.70% | 15 |
| Boone County | 264 | 309 | 17.05% | 16 |
| Putnam County | 30 | 35 | 16.67% | 17 |
| Douglas County | 102 | 118 | 15.69% | 18 |
| Alexander County | 21 | 24 | 14.29% | 19 |
| Calhoun County | 14 | 16 | 14.29% | 20 |
| Shelby County | 73 | 83 | 13.70% | 21 |
| Stephenson County | 165 | 186 | 12.73% | 22 |
| LaSalle County | 445 | 496 | 11.46% | 23 |
| Pike County | 69 | 76 | 10.14% | 24 |
| Richland County | 73 | 80 | 9.59% | 25 |
| Mason County | 54 | 59 | 9.26% | 26 |
| Kendall County | 923 | 1,007 | 9.10% | 27 |
| Madison County | 1,477 | 1,602 | 8.46% | 28 |
| Lawrence County | 48 | 52 | 8.33% | 29 |
| Perry County | 74 | 80 | 8.11% | 30 |
| Peoria County | 1,013 | 1,095 | 8.09% | 31 |
| Winnebago County | 1,539 | 1,661 | 7.93% | 32 |
| Schuyler County | 26 | 28 | 7.69% | 33 |
| Franklin County | 166 | 178 | 7.23% | 34 |
| Edgar County | 71 | 76 | 7.04% | 35 |
| Warren County | 71 | 76 | 7.04% | 36 |
| Ford County | 54 | 57 | 5.56% | 37 |
| Kankakee County | 546 | 576 | 5.49% | 38 |
| Marion County | 149 | 156 | 4.70% | 39 |
| Montgomery County | 90 | 94 | 4.44% | 40 |
| Whiteside County | 207 | 215 | 3.86% | 41 |
| Williamson County | 304 | 314 | 3.29% | 42 |
| Will County | 5,788 | 5,972 | 3.18% | 43 |
| Marshall County | 41 | 42 | 2.44% | 44 |
| Jackson County | 262 | 268 | 2.29% | 45 |
| McHenry County | 2,102 | 2,149 | 2.24% | 46 |
| Monroe County | 182 | 186 | 2.20% | 47 |
| Massac County | 48 | 49 | 2.08% | 48 |
| Kane County | 3,709 | 3,745 | 0.97% | 49 |
| Cook County | 66,358 | 66,987 | 0.95% | 50 |
| St. Clair County | 1,794 | 1,804 | 0.56% | 51 |
| Champaign County | 1,157 | 1,163 | 0.52% | 52 |
| Knox County | 198 | 199 | 0.51% | 53 |
| Lake County | 6,071 | 6,025 | -0.76% | 54 |
| DuPage County | 10,107 | 9,999 | -1.07% | 55 |
| McLean County | 880 | 853 | -3.07% | 56 |
| Crawford County | 86 | 83 | -3.49% | 57 |
| Iroquois County | 105 | 101 | -3.81% | 58 |
| Greene County | 50 | 48 | -4.00% | 59 |
| Coles County | 206 | 197 | -4.37% | 60 |
| Tazewell County | 580 | 554 | -4.48% | 61 |
| Jo Daviess County | 133 | 127 | -4.51% | 62 |
| Lee County | 148 | 141 | -4.73% | 63 |
| Clinton County | 156 | 148 | -5.13% | 64 |
| Jersey County | 96 | 91 | -5.21% | 65 |
| Effingham County | 203 | 191 | -5.91% | 66 |
| Randolph County | 110 | 103 | -6.36% | 67 |
| Vermilion County | 266 | 249 | -6.39% | 68 |
| Piatt County | 72 | 67 | -6.94% | 69 |
| Fulton County | 128 | 118 | -7.81% | 70 |
| Woodford County | 176 | 162 | -7.95% | 71 |
| Clay County | 62 | 57 | -8.06% | 72 |
| Jefferson County | 164 | 149 | -9.15% | 73 |
| DeKalb County | 543 | 487 | -10.31% | 74 |
| Stark County | 18 | 16 | -11.11% | 75 |
| Rock Island County | 743 | 653 | -12.11% | 76 |
| Ogle County | 219 | 192 | -12.33% | 77 |
| Morgan County | 154 | 135 | -12.34% | 78 |
| Bond County | 71 | 62 | -12.68% | 79 |
| Fayette County | 96 | 83 | -13.54% | 80 |
| Carroll County | 56 | 48 | -14.29% | 81 |
| Henry County | 239 | 201 | -15.90% | 82 |
| Cumberland County | 56 | 45 | -19.64% | 83 |
| Brown County | 24 | 19 | -20.83% | 84 |
| Livingston County | 146 | 115 | -21.23% | 85 |
| Wayne County | 83 | 63 | -24.10% | 86 |
| Washington County | 62 | 47 | -24.19% | 87 |
| Jasper County | 48 | 36 | -25.00% | 88 |
| Moultrie County | 89 | 66 | -25.84% | 89 |
| Saline County | 111 | 77 | -30.63% | 90 |
| Cass County | 52 | 36 | -30.77% | 91 |
| Hancock County | 89 | 60 | -32.58% | 92 |
| Johnson County | 55 | 37 | -32.73% | 93 |
| Edwards County | 24 | 16 | -33.33% | 94 |
| Henderson County | 27 | 18 | -33.33% | 95 |
| Sangamon County | 1,949 | 1,244 | -36.17% | 96 |
| Hamilton County | 42 | 25 | -40.48% | 97 |
| Scott County | 29 | 16 | -44.83% | 98 |
| De Witt County | 58 | 30 | -48.28% | 99 |
| Gallatin County | 22 | 10 | -54.55% | 100 |
| Hardin County | 16 | 0 | -100.00% | 101 |
| TOTAL | 116,186 | 116,641 | 0.39% |
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