Cook County had 22,458 public employees – 0.43 percent of the county's population, according to 2016 Illinois State Comptroller financial reports.
State law requires local governments to self-report financial records each year, including the number of employees whose paychecks come from taxpayers. Employees per capita is calculated to compare staffs across cities and villages.
Cook County public employee numbers
| County | Population | Total Employees | % of Employees Per Capita |
| Cook | 5,203,499 | 22,458 | 0.43 % |
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