Real estate · County · Illinois
Mortgage brokers and lenders in Cook County, IL
The mortgage brokers and lenders in Cook County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #707 of 887 scored counties
#19 of 22 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 943
- 265 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 336
- −3.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $31.4B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,972 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 85
- 15% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,194,625
- −1.3% since 2020
See the mortgage brokers and lenders around any address in Cook County
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 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
Cook County scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for mortgage brokers and lenders, ranking #707 of 887 scored counties and #19 of 22 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Cook County comes to about $31.4B a year: $14,972 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 15% 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.
Cook County has 943 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 265 are chain locations, or 28%, against 21% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.5, 5% above the U.S. rate of 4.3.
In 2023, official counts showed 336 businesses with payroll in Cook County classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders, down 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 6,251 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $250K have gone to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in Cook County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cook County declined 1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
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 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 85 | 96 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 6,251 | 7,289 | 4,897 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.4% | +2.7% | +9.5% |
| 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 | 35 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 348 → 336−3.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,613
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $603.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 943265 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 806The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $250K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 cardMortgage brokers and lenders across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for mortgage brokers and lenders, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kendall County, IL | 83 | 6 | 1.3 | 318 | +9.9% | #13 of 887 |
| 2Tazewell County, IL | 66 | 5 | 0.9 | 391 | −0.9% | #156 of 887 |
| 3Sangamon County, IL | 66 | 12 | 1.4 | 256 | −1.0% | #158 of 887 |
| 4Champaign County, IL | 63 | 17 | 2.0 | 173 | +1.8% | #200 of 887 |
| 5Winnebago County, IL | 61 | 17 | 1.5 | 233 | −0.4% | #227 of 887 |
| 6Will County, IL | 60 | 88 | 3.6 | 116 | +2.2% | #254 of 887 |
| 7McLean County, IL | 59 | 18 | 2.6 | 144 | +0.1% | #264 of 887 |
| 8Williamson County, IL | 55 | 6 | 2.1 | 165 | +0.2% | #326 of 887 |
| 9LaSalle County, IL | 52 | 5 | 1.1 | 319 | −1.5% | #395 of 887 |
| 10Kankakee County, IL | 51 | 6 | 1.5 | 243 | −1.7% | #409 of 887 |
| 19Cook County, IL | 35 | 943 | 4.5 | 85 | −1.3% | #707 of 887 |
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 mortgage brokers and lenders are in Cook County, IL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 943 mortgage brokers and lenders in Cook County. 265 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Official counts show 336 businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in 2023, down 3.4% 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 943 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings, housing spending per office is 15% 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. 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 mortgage brokers and lenders?
Cook County has 4.5 mortgage brokers and lenders per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 4.3. The index of housing spending per office is 85, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of mortgage brokers and lenders to household spending, Cook County would have about 806, against 943 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,251 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +9.5% 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 35 for mortgage brokers and lenders (lower middle), #707 of 887 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 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 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.