NextChapter

Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Great Lakes

Union County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Great Lakes, with a score of 80 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Union County, OH: 80 / 100
  • #2 Greene County, OH: 78 / 100
  • #3 Lake County, OH: 78 / 100
  • 52 counties ranked in the Great Lakes
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Union County OH80 / 100
  2. 2Greene County OH78 / 100
  3. 3Lake County OH78 / 100
  4. 4Franklin County OH75 / 100
  5. 5Cuyahoga County OH68 / 100
  6. 6DuPage County IL66 / 100
  7. 7La Crosse County WI65 / 100
  8. 8Kent County MI64 / 100
  9. 9Dane County WI63 / 100
  10. 10Cook County IL63 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Union County leads on 80 / 100, and #10 Cook County is at 63 / 100.
  • La Crosse County reaches #7 on a sample of 127 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Cook County is the largest market in the top ten, with 8,859 openings behind its figure.
  • Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

For someone who has lost a job, the useful counties have openings for people looking, job centers to help and unemployment that is falling. This list weighs those with published weights.

How to use it

If you are between jobs, use it to find nearby counties with more going on, and read each county page for its American Job Centers and workforce board.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Union County OH

    80 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    23
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 259 openings.

    Union County job market

  2. 2

    Greene County OH

    78 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.7 points

    Based on 211 openings.

    Greene County job market

  3. 3

    Lake County OH

    78 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.2 points

    Based on 145 openings.

    Lake County job market

  4. 4

    Franklin County OH

    75 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    10
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.6 points

    Based on 2,497 openings.

    Franklin County job market

  5. 5

    Cuyahoga County OH

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    11
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.4 points

    Based on 1,378 openings.

    Cuyahoga County job market

  6. 6

    DuPage County IL

    66 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    9
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.3 points

    Based on 1,762 openings.

    DuPage County job market

  7. 7

    La Crosse County WI

    65 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.1 points

    Based on 127 openings.

    La Crosse County job market

  8. 8

    Kent County MI

    64 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 489 openings.

    Kent County job market

  9. 9

    Dane County WI

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 622 openings.

    Dane County job market

  10. 10

    Cook County IL

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    12
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.4 points

    Based on 8,859 openings.

    Cook County job market

  11. 11

    Marion County IN

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 1,388 openings.

    Marion County job market

  12. 12

    Sangamon County IL

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    9
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.9 points

    Based on 288 openings.

    Sangamon County job market

  13. 13

    Montgomery County OH

    60 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.6 points

    Based on 551 openings.

    Montgomery County job market

  14. 14

    McLean County IL

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.6 points

    Based on 156 openings.

    McLean County job market

  15. 15

    Lorain County OH

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.5 points

    Based on 107 openings.

    Lorain County job market

  16. 16

    Hamilton County OH

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    10
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.7 points

    Based on 1,582 openings.

    Hamilton County job market

  17. 17

    Milwaukee County WI

    58 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 965 openings.

    Milwaukee County job market

  18. 18

    Lake County IL

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.8 points

    Based on 772 openings.

    Lake County job market

  19. 19

    Hennepin County MN

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.9 points

    Based on 2,349 openings.

    Hennepin County job market

  20. 20

    Washtenaw County MI

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 394 openings.

    Washtenaw County job market

  21. 21

    Clark County IN

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.3 points

    Based on 136 openings.

    Clark County job market

  22. 22

    Winnebago County WI

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.1 points

    Based on 145 openings.

    Winnebago County job market

  23. 23

    Warren County OH

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.5 points

    Based on 186 openings.

    Warren County job market

  24. 24

    Olmsted County MN

    52 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.8 points

    Based on 185 openings.

    Olmsted County job market

  25. 25

    Peoria County IL

    51 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 178 openings.

    Peoria County job market

Full ranking

All 52 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Union County OH80 / 100259
2Greene County OH78 / 100211
3Lake County OH78 / 100145
4Franklin County OH75 / 1002,497
5Cuyahoga County OH68 / 1001,378
6DuPage County IL66 / 1001,762
7La Crosse County WI65 / 100127
8Kent County MI64 / 100489
9Dane County WI63 / 100622
10Cook County IL63 / 1008,859
11Marion County IN63 / 1001,388
12Sangamon County IL63 / 100288
13Montgomery County OH60 / 100551
14McLean County IL59 / 100156
15Lorain County OH59 / 100107
16Hamilton County OH59 / 1001,582
17Milwaukee County WI58 / 100965
18Lake County IL57 / 100772
19Hennepin County MN57 / 1002,349
20Washtenaw County MI57 / 100394
21Clark County IN55 / 100136
22Winnebago County WI54 / 100145
23Warren County OH54 / 100186
24Olmsted County MN52 / 100185
25Peoria County IL51 / 100178
26Waukesha County WI51 / 100326
27Madison County IL50 / 100108
28Outagamie County WI49 / 100172
29Brown County WI49 / 100144
30Allen County IN48 / 100277
31Summit County OH48 / 100461
32Ingham County MI47 / 100241
33Hamilton County IN43 / 100203
34Winnebago County IL42 / 100157
35Champaign County IL41 / 100149
36St. Clair County IL41 / 100160
37Will County IL39 / 100234
38Lake County IN39 / 100101
39Oakland County MI39 / 1001,151
40Lucas County OH39 / 100257
41St. Louis County MN37 / 100101
42Vanderburgh County IN37 / 100118
43Kalamazoo County MI36 / 100134
44Kane County IL35 / 100195
45Stark County OH34 / 100108
46Wayne County MI33 / 1001,251
47Ramsey County MN31 / 100455
48Dakota County MN29 / 100198
49Elkhart County IN28 / 100129
50Macomb County MI25 / 100301
51Ottawa County MI25 / 100113
52McHenry County IL25 / 100107

How this ranking works

A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.

Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.

Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.

Sample bar: counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; CareerOneStop American Job Center directory. Data as of November 2026.

Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.

Questions

Which county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in the great lakes?
Union County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Great Lakes, with a score of 80 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
52 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 52 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.
How often is it updated?
Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.

More rankings

Cite this ranking

NextChapter, “Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Great Lakes,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-great-lakes

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-great-lakes">Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Great Lakes (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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