Real estate · Metro area · Illinois
Home inspectors in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area
How the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for home inspectors: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #126 of 243 scored metro areas
#2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 237
- 8 chain locations (3%)
- Official establishments
- 190
- −10.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $56.1B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,401 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 90
- 10% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.7
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,434,123
- 0.0% since 2020
See the home inspectors around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
The site report maps the home inspectors 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 the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area spend about $56.1B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,401 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 10% 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.
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 237 home inspectors on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (3%) are chain locations, against 3% across the U.S. That comes to 0.7 for every 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 190 businesses with payroll in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area classed as building inspection services, down 10.2% from 2019. That is one for every 19,178 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $2.3M have gone to businesses classed as building inspection services in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for home inspectors in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area is 50 (upper middle), #126 of 243 scored metro areas and #2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.
How the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area compares
The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 90 | 89 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 19,178 | 21,523 | 17,237 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −10.2% | −5.3% | +6.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,401 | $14,866 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $90,887 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 190−10.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 658
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $41.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2378 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 214The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $2.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as building inspection services in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, 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 the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 9,434,1230.0% since 2020
- Households
- 3,643,783
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 66%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 6,923 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,354
- Median household income
- $90,887
- Average household income
- $125,950
- Median home value
- $323,000
- Jobs located here
- 4,599,202
- Daytime population
- 9,509,530Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the home inspectors on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHome inspectors across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for home inspectors, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| 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 |
Other business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate34
- Real estate agents and brokers35
- Property management42
- Mortgage brokers and lenders32
- Home inspectors50
Funeral services
Questions
How many home inspectors are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 237 home inspectors in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. 8 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 190 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023, down 10.2% from 2019.
How much do households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $56.1B a year, or $15,401 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 237 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 10% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,643,783 households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 0.7 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 90, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of home inspectors to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 214, against 237 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 19,178 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. The official count fell 10.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.5% for the U.S.
How fast is the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area at 9,434,123 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,643,783 households. The median household income in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area is $90,887 a year, 13% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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. The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 50 for home inspectors (upper middle), #126 of 243 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. 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.
How the score works · Top markets for home inspectors · All 56 business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
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.