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Auto · County · Illinois

Auto repair shops in Cook County, IL

How Cook County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for auto repair shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,722 of 2,378 scored counties
#63 of 87 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
3,653
584 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
2,190
−0.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.7B
On vehicle maintenance and repairs · $800 a household
Spending per listing
$460K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.4
19% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
5,194,625
−1.3% since 2020

See the auto repair shops around any address in Cook County

The site report maps the auto repair shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Cook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Cook County spend about $1.7B a year on vehicle maintenance and repairs, or $800 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $460K of household spending for each shop on map listings, 3% above the U.S. figure of $445K. The spending figure covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, not only auto repair shops.

Cook County has 3,653 auto repair shops on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 584 are chain locations, or 16%, against 16% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 17.4, 19% below the U.S. rate of 21.5.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Cook County was 2,190 in 2023, down 0.3% from 2019. That is one for every 959 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. Another 4,142 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 110 SBA-backed loans worth $55.5M have gone to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Cook County.

Population estimates show Cook County declined 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For auto repair shops, Cook County has a Groundwork market score of 38 (lower middle): #1,722 of 2,378 scored counties and #63 of 87 scored counties in Illinois.

How Cook County compares

The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all vehicle maintenance and repairs by the auto repair shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Auto repair shops in Cook County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCook CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.420.321.5
Spending per listing$460K$479K$445K
Households per official establishment959840955
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−0.3%−1.1%+2.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on vehicle maintenance and repairs$800$975$958
Median household income$83,498$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3838

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
2,197 → 2,190−0.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
11,425
Annual payroll, 2023
$685.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
4,142Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3,653584 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3,778The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
110
Amount
$55.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in Cook County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Cook County

Population, 2025 estimate
5,194,625−1.3% since 2020
Households
2,100,230
Median age
39.2
Homes lived in by their owners
58%
Vehicles per household
1.4
Land area
945 sq. mi.
People per square mile
5,484
Median household income
$83,498+29.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$120,729
Median home value
$324,500
Jobs located here
2,683,238
Daytime population
5,468,881Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cook County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the auto repair shops on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Cook County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Auto repair shops across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for auto repair shops, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Cook County marked.

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for auto repair shops by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kendall County, IL827817.2$752K+9.9%#78 of 2,378
2Piatt County, IL76913.0$994K+0.6%#182 of 2,378
3Woodford County, IL702215.0$818K−0.8%#330 of 2,378
4Marshall County, IL70815.7$743K−2.0%#332 of 2,378
5Boone County, IL694020.6$583K+0.4%#375 of 2,378
6Menard County, IL68815.3$725K−3.3%#401 of 2,378
7Crawford County, IL671824.0$475K+0.1%#477 of 2,378
8Jersey County, IL651620.1$599K−1.5%#517 of 2,378
9Greene County, IL64818.0$648K−5.1%#550 of 2,378
10Douglas County, IL631114.2$781K+0.5%#588 of 2,378
63Cook County, IL383,65317.4$460K−1.3%#1,722 of 2,378

Other business types in Cook County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Funeral services

Questions

How many auto repair shops are in Cook County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3,653 auto repair shops in Cook County. 584 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count general, specialty, body and glass repair shops. Official counts show 2,190 businesses with payroll classed as mechanical, body and glass repair in 2023, down 0.3% from 2019. Official counts list 4,142 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Cook County, IL spend on vehicle maintenance and repairs?

About $1.7B a year, or $800 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,653 auto repair shops on map listings, it comes to $460K per shop. That spending covers all vehicle maintenance and repairs, which auto repair shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,100,230 households in Cook County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cook County, IL compare with the U.S. for auto repair shops?

Cook County has 17.4 auto repair shops per 10,000 households, 19% below the U.S. rate of 21.5. Spending per shop is $460K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $445K. At the U.S. ratio of auto repair shops to household spending, Cook County would have about 3,778, against 3,653 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 959 households, against one for every 955 across the U.S. The official count fell 0.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +2.1% for the U.S.

How fast is Cook County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Cook County at 5,194,625 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 2,100,230 households. Median household income in Cook County is $83,498, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Cook County scores 38 for auto repair shops (lower middle), #1,722 of 2,378 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cook County. It maps the auto repair shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for auto repair shops · All 56 business types in Cook County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cook County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

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This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.