Market rankings · Illinois

Home inspectors in Illinois

Markets across Illinois ranked by the Groundwork market score for home inspectors, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 322; 10 chain locations (3%)
Official establishments: 234; −5.3% since 2019
Household spending a year: $74.9B; On rent and homeowner costs
Listings per 10k households: 0.6; In line with the U.S.
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100): 89; 11% below the U.S.
Rank among states: #45 of 50; Market score 31 · Lower middle

A site report maps the home inspectors on map listings around any address in Illinois by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 322 home inspectors in Illinois. 10 of them (3%) are chain locations, against 3% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 0.6, in line with the U.S. rate of 0.6.

Households in Illinois spend about $74.9B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $14,866 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 11% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money home inspectors take in.

Official counts show 234 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in Illinois in 2023, down 5.3% from 2019. That is one for every 21,523 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.5% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as building inspection services in Illinois.

Among 50 states, Illinois ranks #45 for home inspectors, with a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle). Of the 10 scored metro areas in or partly in Illinois, the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area scores highest (61). Among 16 scored counties, Cook County scores highest (54).

Every market in Illinois for home inspectors

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Illinois, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching Illinois, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	61	5	0.3	171	−0.9%	#59 of 243
1Rockford, IL	52	7	0.5	100	−0.3%	#114 of 243
2Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	50	237	0.7	90	0.0%	#126 of 243
St. Louis, MO-IL	46	69	0.6	94	−0.2%	#145 of 243
3Bloomington, IL	45	5	0.7	77	+0.1%	#150 of 243
4Champaign-Urbana, IL	43	6	0.6	84	+1.5%	#158 of 243
5Peoria, IL	41	12	0.8	68	−1.3%	#166 of 243
6Springfield, IL	32	7	0.8	69	−1.2%	#203 of 243
7Kankakee, IL	10	5	1.2	43	−1.7%	#239 of 243
8Decatur, IL	1	7	1.6	31	−4.3%	#243 of 243
Paducah, KY-IL	Not scored	1	0.2	224	−1.2%
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+1.7%

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Illinois, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth
Ottawa, IL	Not scored	3	0.5	107	−1.6%
Quincy, IL-MO	Not scored	3	1.0	52	−2.0%
Danville, IL	Not scored	1	0.3	144	−3.7%
Marion-Herrin, IL	Not scored	2	0.7	73	+0.2%
Sterling, IL	Not scored	1	0.4	116	−2.6%
Carbondale, IL	Not scored	3	1.3	35	−1.5%
Rochelle, IL	Not scored	4	1.9	28	−0.7%
Galesburg, IL	Not scored	2	1.0	50	−4.1%
Charleston-Mattoon, IL	Not scored	1	0.5	100	−1.0%
Effingham, IL	Not scored	1	0.6	97	−0.9%
Burlington, IA-IL	Not scored	4	2.0	24	−2.5%
Freeport, IL	Not scored	2	1.0	48	−3.0%
Jacksonville, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.1%
Centralia, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.4%
Mount Vernon, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	73	−2.3%
Pontiac, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Dixon, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	69	−3.4%
Taylorville, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.5%
Canton, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.0%
Lincoln, IL	Not scored	1	0.9	57	−2.5%
Macomb, IL	Not scored	1	0.8	56	−4.5%

Counties

Counties in Illinois, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Cook County, IL	54	113	0.5	106	−1.3%	#166 of 415
2Winnebago County, IL	52	6	0.5	98	−0.4%	#180 of 415
3Kane County, IL	50	12	0.6	94	+1.8%	#197 of 415
4Lake County, IL	47	18	0.7	92	+0.8%	#216 of 415
5McLean County, IL	46	5	0.7	77	+0.1%	#230 of 415
6DuPage County, IL	46	30	0.9	75	+0.3%	#232 of 415
7Kendall County, IL	44	5	1.1	57	+9.9%	#257 of 415
8McHenry County, IL	41	9	0.8	80	+2.5%	#272 of 415
9Madison County, IL	41	8	0.7	74	−1.0%	#273 of 415
10Champaign County, IL	39	6	0.7	73	+1.8%	#298 of 415
11Will County, IL	39	29	1.2	52	+2.2%	#300 of 415
12Sangamon County, IL	38	6	0.7	76	−1.0%	#304 of 415
13Peoria County, IL	30	5	0.6	81	−1.6%	#362 of 415
14Kankakee County, IL	13	5	1.2	43	−1.7%	#407 of 415
15Tazewell County, IL	12	7	1.3	42	−0.9%	#410 of 415
16Macon County, IL	2	7	1.6	31	−4.3%	#415 of 415
St. Clair County, IL	Not scored	3	0.3	179	−2.5%
Rock Island County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.7%
LaSalle County, IL	Not scored	2	0.4	119	−1.5%
DeKalb County, IL	Not scored	1	0.3	208	+1.5%
Vermilion County, IL	Not scored	1	0.3	144	−3.7%
Williamson County, IL	Not scored	2	0.7	73	+0.2%
Adams County, IL	Not scored	3	1.1	47	−2.1%
Whiteside County, IL	Not scored	1	0.4	116	−2.6%
Boone County, IL	Not scored	1	0.5	109	+0.4%

Show all 102 counties

Counties in Illinois, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth
Grundy County, IL	Not scored	4	1.9	30	+2.9%
Jackson County, IL	Not scored	3	1.3	35	−1.5%
Ogle County, IL	Not scored	4	1.9	28	−0.7%
Knox County, IL	Not scored	2	1.0	50	−4.1%
Henry County, IL	Not scored	2	1.0	53	−2.2%
Coles County, IL	Not scored	1	0.5	100	−1.0%
Macoupin County, IL	Not scored	1	0.6	92	−2.6%
Stephenson County, IL	Not scored	2	1.0	48	−3.0%
Woodford County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−0.8%
Franklin County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Marion County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.4%
Clinton County, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	81	+0.6%
Jefferson County, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	73	−2.3%
Livingston County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Monroe County, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	84	−0.3%
Effingham County, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	75	−0.5%
Lee County, IL	Not scored	1	0.7	69	−3.4%
Christian County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.5%
Morgan County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.9%
Fulton County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.0%
Bureau County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Randolph County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−0.6%
Montgomery County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−0.6%
Logan County, IL	Not scored	1	0.9	57	−2.5%
McDonough County, IL	Not scored	1	0.8	56	−4.5%
Iroquois County, IL	Not scored	1	0.9	57	−3.0%
Saline County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.1%
Jo Daviess County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.2%
Fayette County, IL	Not scored	1	1.3	38	−3.2%
Jersey County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.5%
Shelby County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.6%
Perry County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.5%
Douglas County, IL	Not scored	2	2.6	20	+0.5%
Crawford County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+0.1%
Hancock County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.4%
Union County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.7%
Bond County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+0.6%
Piatt County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+0.6%
Edgar County, IL	Not scored	1	1.3	37	−2.9%
Warren County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.6%
Wayne County, IL	Not scored	1	1.5	32	−1.6%
Richland County, IL	Not scored	1	1.6	31	−3.7%
Carroll County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.7%
Mercer County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.6%
De Witt County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Clark County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.2%
Lawrence County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−9.7%
Pike County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.8%
Moultrie County, IL	Not scored	1	1.7	30	−0.8%
Massac County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.5%
Washington County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.2%
White County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.0%
Ford County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.2%
Johnson County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+0.4%
Clay County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.6%
Cass County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.0%
Mason County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.9%
Menard County, IL	Not scored	1	1.9	28	−3.3%
Greene County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−5.1%
Marshall County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.0%
Wabash County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.6%
Cumberland County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.1%
Jasper County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.4%
Hamilton County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.7%
Schuyler County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.0%
Brown County, IL	Not scored	1	4.9	10	+2.7%
Henderson County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−5.6%
Edwards County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−5.0%
Putnam County, IL	Not scored	1	4.1	13	−0.1%
Stark County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.2%
Pulaski County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−6.9%
Scott County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.0%
Alexander County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−11.6%
Gallatin County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−6.4%
Calhoun County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.2%
Pope County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.2%
Hardin County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.8%

Markets with fewer than 5 home inspectors on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many home inspectors are in Illinois?

Illinois has 322 home inspectors on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 234 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023, down 5.3% from 2019.

How much do households in Illinois spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $74.9B a year, or $14,866 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 322 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 11% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money home inspectors take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,036,449 households in Illinois and national spending patterns by income.

How does Illinois compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?

Illinois has 0.6 home inspectors per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 89, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of home inspectors to household spending, Illinois would have about 285, against 322 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 21,523 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. The official count fell 5.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.5% for the U.S.

Which market in Illinois has the highest market score for home inspectors?

Among 10 scored metro areas in or partly in Illinois, the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area scores highest, at 61 (upper middle). Among 16 scored counties in Illinois, Cook County scores highest, at 54 (upper middle). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

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. Illinois scores 31 for home inspectors (lower middle), #45 of 50 scored states.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Illinois. It maps the home inspectors 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.

Real estate16,459 listings
Real estate agents and brokers12,860 listings
Property management1,280 listings
Mortgage brokers and lenders1,997 listings

Screening a site or an acquisition in Illinois?

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

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