Manufacturing Economy Monitor

Paper Products Manufacturing in Illinois

Paper Products manufacturing added $2.9B of value to Illinois's economy in 2025, up 3.5% year over year. That ranks Illinois 8th of 50 states and DC for this industry. It is 2.1% of Illinois's manufacturing output. Nationally, paper products is a $70.9B industry (the 14th-largest of the 19 manufacturing subsectors), per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Output and rank

  • Value added: $2.9B in 2025, #8 of 50 states and DC for this industry.
  • Growth: +3.5% year over year.
  • Share of Illinois's manufacturing: 2.1% of the state's total manufacturing value added.
  • National context: paper products is a $70.9B industry nationally, #14 of the 19 manufacturing subsectors (+2.8% year over year).
  • Classification: nondurable goods manufacturing (BEA subsector 322).

Frequently asked questions

  • How big is the paper products industry in Illinois? Paper Products added $2.9B of value in Illinois in 2025, ranking the state 8th of 50 states and DC for this industry, per BEA state GDP-by-industry data.
  • Is paper products growing in Illinois? Illinois's paper products output grew 3.5% year over year to 2025. The chart above traces the full annual series since 1997.
  • What share of Illinois's manufacturing is paper products? Paper Products is 2.1% of Illinois's total manufacturing value added in 2025, per BEA state GDP-by-industry data.

About this data

  • Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (public domain). National quarterly values are seasonally adjusted annual rates. Corporate-profit industry detail reflects inventory valuation adjustment without capital consumption adjustment, per NIPA table 6.16D conventions.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.