Real estate · County · Illinois
Home inspectors in Cook County, IL
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for home inspectors in Cook County, IL, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #166 of 415 scored counties
#1 of 16 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 113
- 5 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 85
- +2.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $31.4B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,972 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 106
- 6% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 0.5
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,194,625
- −1.3% since 2020
See the home inspectors around any address in Cook County
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 Cook County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 113 home inspectors in Cook County. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 4%, against 3% across the U.S. That is 0.5 per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 0.6.
At $14,972 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Cook County spend about $31.4B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per business is 6% above 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 85 businesses with payroll in Cook County classed as building inspection services, up 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 24,709 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $69K has gone to businesses classed as building inspection services in Cook County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cook County declined 1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Cook County scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for home inspectors, ranking #166 of 415 scored counties and #1 of 16 scored counties in Illinois.
How Cook County 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 | Cook County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 106 | 89 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 24,709 | 21,523 | 17,237 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.4% | −5.3% | +6.5% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,972 | $14,866 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $83,498 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 31 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 83 → 85+2.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 192
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1135 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 120The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $69K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as building inspection services 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 home inspectors 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.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHome inspectors across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for home inspectors, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Cook County marked.
Top counties in Illinois
| 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 |
Other business types in Cook County
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 estate27
- Real estate agents and brokers30
- Property management31
- Mortgage brokers and lenders35
- Home inspectors54
Funeral services
Questions
How many home inspectors are in Cook County, IL?
There are 113 home inspectors on map listings in Cook County as of September 2026. 5 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 85 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023, up 2.4% from 2019.
How much do households in Cook County, IL spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $31.4B a year, or $14,972 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 113 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 6% above 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 2,100,230 households in Cook County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cook County, IL compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?
Cook County has 0.5 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 106, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of home inspectors to household spending, Cook County would have about 120, against 113 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 24,709 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.5% 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 54 for home inspectors (upper middle), #166 of 415 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 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 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.
The button opens the report at the center of Cook County. 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.