Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Illinois

Mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #346 of 373 scored metro areas
#7 of 7 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
1,861
530 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
608
−2.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$56.1B
On rent and homeowner costs · $15,401 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
77
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.1
19% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,434,123
0.0% since 2020

See the mortgage brokers and lenders around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

The site report maps the mortgage brokers and lenders 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.

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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

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 32 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for mortgage brokers and lenders, ranking #346 of 373 scored metro areas and #7 of 7 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,861 mortgage brokers and lenders in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. 530 of them (28%) are chain locations, against 21% across the U.S. That comes to 5.1 for every 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 4.3.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area comes to about $56.1B a year: $15,401 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 23% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 608 businesses with payroll in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders, down 2.4% from 2019. That is one for every 5,993 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $756K have gone to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders 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.

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.

Mortgage brokers and lenders in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChicago-Naperville-Elgin metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.14.04.3
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)7796100
Households per official establishment5,9937,2894,897
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.4%+2.7%+9.5%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%−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 score3238

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
608−2.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
8,174
Annual payroll, 2023
$860.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1,861530 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,438The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$756K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings by name and distance.

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Mortgage brokers and lenders across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for mortgage brokers and lenders, 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

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for mortgage brokers and lenders by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Springfield, IL66121.3271−1.2%#48 of 373
2Champaign-Urbana, IL63181.8189+1.5%#70 of 373
3Rockford, IL62171.3276−0.3%#80 of 373
4Bloomington, IL59182.6144+0.1%#107 of 373
5Peoria, IL55281.8196−1.3%#139 of 373
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL55362.2160−0.9%#141 of 373
6Kankakee, IL5061.5243−1.7%#179 of 373
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL38164.281+1.7%#282 of 373
Paducah, KY-IL35133.1116−1.2%#313 of 373
St. Louis, MO-IL325254.583−0.2%#344 of 373
7Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN321,8615.1770.0%#346 of 373

Other business types in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area

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

Questions

How many mortgage brokers and lenders are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?

There are 1,861 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area as of September 2026. 530 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Official counts show 608 businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in 2023, down 2.4% 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 1,861 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings, housing spending per office is 23% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders?

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 5.1 mortgage brokers and lenders per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 4.3. The index of housing spending per office is 77, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of mortgage brokers and lenders to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 1,438, against 1,861 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,993 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +9.5% 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 32 for mortgage brokers and lenders (lower middle), #346 of 373 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders · 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.