NAICS 311

Food manufacturing

The BLS counted 1,341 private food manufacturing establishments across the nine counties on this site in 2024. Cook County, IL had the most (842). Food plants ship finished goods on pallets and receive ingredients and packaging on them. Food customers often specify clean, dry pallets in good condition, and some move to plastic or pooled pallets.

1,341

Establishments, nine counties (2024)^[1]

65,541

Jobs in the 9 counties where the BLS discloses them^[1]

Cook

County with the most establishments^[1]

Food manufacturing by county, 2024 annual averages (private)
County	Establishments	Jobs	Share of county private jobs
Cook County, Illinois	842	40,311	1.8%
DuPage County, Illinois	159	8,052	1.4%
Kane County, Illinois	63	5,710	3.1%
Lake County, Illinois	90	2,222	0.8%
McHenry County, Illinois	34	1,150	1.4%
Will County, Illinois	80	4,978	2.2%
Kendall County, Illinois	16	656	2.7%
Lake County, Indiana	37	2,102	1.2%
Porter County, Indiana	20	360	0.6%

Pallet types this industry tends to handle

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Sources

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. Private ownership. Establishment counts and average employment by county and NAICS industry. Employment the BLS withholds for confidentiality is shown as not disclosed.

Last reviewed 2026-10-27. Not legal advice and not a price quote. See how the figures are built.