Market rankings · Illinois

Real estate agents and brokers in Illinois

Every metro area, small-town market and county in Illinois, ranked by the Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 12,860; 640 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments: 4,933; +10.8% since 2019
Household spending a year: $74.9B; On rent and homeowner costs
Listings per 10k households: 25.5; 17% below the U.S.
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100): 107; 7% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #35 of 51; Market score 41 · Lower middle

A site report maps the real estate agents and brokers 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

There are 12,860 real estate agents and brokers on map listings in Illinois as of September 2026. Of those, 640 are chain locations, or 5%, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.5, 17% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.

At $14,866 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Illinois spend about $74.9B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 7% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in.

Official counts show 4,933 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in Illinois in 2023, up 10.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,021 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 20.1% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 46 SBA-backed loans worth $9.5M have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in Illinois.

Among the 50 states and DC, Illinois ranks #35 for real estate agents and brokers, with a Groundwork market score of 41 (lower middle). Of the 12 scored metro areas in or partly in Illinois, the Decatur metro area scores highest (58). Of the 21 scored small-town markets in or partly in Illinois, the Ottawa area scores highest (66).

Every market in Illinois for real estate agents and brokers

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 real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Decatur, IL	58	51	11.7	205	−4.3%	#100 of 387
2Peoria, IL	55	250	16.2	157	−1.3%	#128 of 387
Paducah, KY-IL	53	75	18.0	144	−1.2%	#147 of 387
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	52	289	17.9	142	−0.9%	#157 of 387
3Rockford, IL	51	215	15.9	156	−0.3%	#168 of 387
4Bloomington, IL	50	170	24.2	109	+0.1%	#181 of 387
5Springfield, IL	49	173	19.2	135	−1.2%	#184 of 387
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL	49	72	18.8	129	+1.7%	#186 of 387
6Kankakee, IL	45	79	19.3	132	−1.7%	#226 of 387
7Champaign-Urbana, IL	42	214	21.8	114	+1.5%	#259 of 387
St. Louis, MO-IL	40	2,857	24.6	109	−0.2%	#279 of 387
8Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	35	10,906	29.9	94	0.0%	#333 of 387

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching Illinois, ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Ottawa, IL	66	67	10.8	231	−1.6%	#71 of 533
2Canton, IL	63	11	8.0	295	−2.0%	#96 of 533
3Danville, IL	55	33	11.0	211	−3.7%	#184 of 533
4Galesburg, IL	53	17	8.1	282	−4.1%	#211 of 533
5Lincoln, IL	53	12	10.7	230	−2.5%	#212 of 533
6Sterling, IL	51	32	13.8	175	−2.6%	#241 of 533
7Effingham, IL	50	28	15.4	166	−0.9%	#256 of 533
8Taylorville, IL	47	19	14.0	170	−1.5%	#298 of 533
9Jacksonville, IL	47	22	14.5	167	−3.1%	#299 of 533
10Dixon, IL	47	20	15.0	167	−3.4%	#300 of 533
11Charleston-Mattoon, IL	46	32	15.4	150	−1.0%	#318 of 533
12Rochelle, IL	44	33	15.8	164	−0.7%	#337 of 533
13Freeport, IL	43	25	12.9	185	−3.0%	#346 of 533
14Macomb, IL	40	16	13.5	168	−4.5%	#380 of 533
15Centralia, IL	39	24	15.5	151	−3.4%	#400 of 533
16Pontiac, IL	38	31	21.2	119	−2.1%	#417 of 533
Burlington, IA-IL	36	31	15.6	152	−2.5%	#439 of 533
17Carbondale, IL	35	40	17.4	128	−1.5%	#455 of 533
18Quincy, IL-MO	32	58	18.6	129	−2.0%	#488 of 533
19Mount Vernon, IL	31	27	18.2	130	−2.3%	#494 of 533
20Marion-Herrin, IL	27	73	25.2	97	+0.2%	#516 of 533

Counties

Counties in Illinois, ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Henry County, IL	69	11	5.4	468	−2.2%	#229 of 2,176
2Woodford County, IL	69	10	6.8	409	−0.8%	#232 of 2,176
3Douglas County, IL	68	7	9.0	282	+0.5%	#263 of 2,176
4Bureau County, IL	66	8	5.7	430	−2.1%	#314 of 2,176
5Clinton County, IL	65	19	13.0	205	+0.6%	#355 of 2,176
6Boone County, IL	63	16	8.2	328	+0.4%	#409 of 2,176
7Randolph County, IL	62	12	10.0	240	−0.6%	#457 of 2,176
8Fulton County, IL	61	11	8.0	295	−2.0%	#503 of 2,176
9Kendall County, IL	61	89	19.6	153	+9.9%	#530 of 2,176
10Jersey County, IL	60	9	11.3	231	−1.5%	#548 of 2,176
11Montgomery County, IL	60	12	10.6	225	−0.6%	#550 of 2,176
12LaSalle County, IL	59	58	12.8	197	−1.5%	#591 of 2,176
13Tazewell County, IL	58	66	12.2	212	−0.9%	#639 of 2,176
14Washington County, IL	57	5	8.6	293	−1.2%	#668 of 2,176
15Shelby County, IL	56	6	6.7	363	−1.6%	#717 of 2,176
16Macoupin County, IL	56	17	9.7	260	−2.6%	#722 of 2,176
17Knox County, IL	55	17	8.1	282	−4.1%	#770 of 2,176
18Piatt County, IL	55	11	15.9	174	+0.6%	#782 of 2,176
19Vermilion County, IL	54	33	11.0	211	−3.7%	#812 of 2,176
20Macon County, IL	53	51	11.7	205	−4.3%	#866 of 2,176
21Rock Island County, IL	53	74	12.0	203	−1.7%	#867 of 2,176
22Clark County, IL	51	6	9.2	268	−2.2%	#977 of 2,176
23Iroquois County, IL	51	16	14.0	173	−3.0%	#987 of 2,176
24McHenry County, IL	51	259	22.0	134	+2.5%	#1,000 of 2,176
25Lawrence County, IL	50	5	9.1	261	−9.7%	#1,020 of 2,176

Show all 102 counties

Counties in Illinois, ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
26Whiteside County, IL	50	32	13.8	175	−2.6%	#1,032 of 2,176
27Effingham County, IL	50	21	15.1	173	−0.5%	#1,033 of 2,176
28Bond County, IL	50	10	16.3	151	+0.6%	#1,045 of 2,176
29Will County, IL	50	545	22.3	134	+2.2%	#1,053 of 2,176
30St. Clair County, IL	49	163	16.2	159	−2.5%	#1,085 of 2,176
31DeKalb County, IL	49	78	19.7	128	+1.5%	#1,106 of 2,176
32Grundy County, IL	49	53	25.7	109	+2.9%	#1,120 of 2,176
33Hancock County, IL	48	7	9.2	261	−4.4%	#1,132 of 2,176
34Logan County, IL	48	12	10.7	230	−2.5%	#1,134 of 2,176
35Christian County, IL	48	19	14.0	170	−1.5%	#1,142 of 2,176
36Lee County, IL	48	20	15.0	167	−3.4%	#1,143 of 2,176
37Coles County, IL	48	32	15.4	150	−1.0%	#1,151 of 2,176
38Edgar County, IL	47	6	7.9	296	−2.9%	#1,188 of 2,176
39Perry County, IL	47	7	8.9	269	−3.5%	#1,189 of 2,176
40Mercer County, IL	47	8	12.2	209	−2.6%	#1,193 of 2,176
41Union County, IL	46	5	7.3	317	−3.7%	#1,250 of 2,176
42Pike County, IL	46	7	11.7	197	−2.8%	#1,258 of 2,176
43Johnson County, IL	46	5	12.2	194	+0.4%	#1,259 of 2,176
44McLean County, IL	46	170	24.2	109	+0.1%	#1,289 of 2,176
45Stephenson County, IL	45	25	12.9	185	−3.0%	#1,311 of 2,176
46Richland County, IL	44	6	9.3	253	−3.7%	#1,352 of 2,176
47Ogle County, IL	44	33	15.8	164	−0.7%	#1,364 of 2,176
48Morgan County, IL	44	21	16.1	152	−2.9%	#1,368 of 2,176
49Wayne County, IL	43	7	10.2	223	−1.6%	#1,401 of 2,176
50McDonough County, IL	43	16	13.5	168	−4.5%	#1,406 of 2,176
51Marion County, IL	43	24	15.5	151	−3.4%	#1,407 of 2,176
52Franklin County, IL	41	17	10.5	216	−2.1%	#1,500 of 2,176
53Winnebago County, IL	41	199	17.2	142	−0.4%	#1,508 of 2,176
54Livingston County, IL	41	31	21.2	119	−2.1%	#1,518 of 2,176
55Fayette County, IL	40	9	11.5	205	−3.2%	#1,556 of 2,176
56Monroe County, IL	40	30	21.7	135	−0.3%	#1,569 of 2,176
57Sangamon County, IL	40	170	20.1	129	−1.0%	#1,574 of 2,176
58Jackson County, IL	40	40	17.4	128	−1.5%	#1,575 of 2,176
59Madison County, IL	40	244	22.2	117	−1.0%	#1,583 of 2,176
60Kane County, IL	40	561	30.4	97	+1.8%	#1,599 of 2,176
61Massac County, IL	39	6	11.0	212	−4.5%	#1,628 of 2,176
62Crawford County, IL	39	14	18.7	132	+0.1%	#1,636 of 2,176
63Kankakee County, IL	38	79	19.3	132	−1.7%	#1,681 of 2,176
64Greene County, IL	37	6	13.5	180	−5.1%	#1,724 of 2,176
65Saline County, IL	36	12	12.0	192	−4.1%	#1,776 of 2,176
66Jefferson County, IL	36	27	18.2	130	−2.3%	#1,784 of 2,176
67Champaign County, IL	36	194	22.7	109	+1.8%	#1,799 of 2,176
68Clay County, IL	35	7	13.2	178	−3.6%	#1,834 of 2,176
69Ford County, IL	35	9	15.4	154	−2.2%	#1,837 of 2,176
70Cumberland County, IL	35	7	16.8	146	−2.1%	#1,839 of 2,176
71Adams County, IL	35	55	19.7	123	−2.1%	#1,843 of 2,176
72Lake County, IL	35	885	34.2	90	+0.8%	#1,859 of 2,176
73Warren County, IL	34	11	16.2	151	−3.6%	#1,883 of 2,176
74De Witt County, IL	34	15	22.7	109	−2.1%	#1,893 of 2,176
75Peoria County, IL	33	170	21.9	114	−1.6%	#1,931 of 2,176
76Moultrie County, IL	32	12	20.6	121	−0.8%	#1,958 of 2,176
77Cook County, IL	30	6,124	29.2	94	−1.3%	#2,022 of 2,176
78Williamson County, IL	29	73	25.2	97	+0.2%	#2,049 of 2,176
79DuPage County, IL	29	1,586	45.2	68	+0.3%	#2,059 of 2,176
80Jo Daviess County, IL	27	31	29.8	86	−2.2%	#2,094 of 2,176
81White County, IL	25	9	15.9	142	−4.0%	#2,115 of 2,176
82Carroll County, IL	22	24	36.5	64	−1.7%	#2,143 of 2,176
Cass County, IL	Not scored	4	7.8	308	−4.0%
Mason County, IL	Not scored	2	3.5	681	−4.9%
Menard County, IL	Not scored	3	5.7	445	−3.3%
Marshall County, IL	Not scored	2	3.9	625	−2.0%
Wabash County, IL	Not scored	4	8.4	278	−3.6%
Jasper County, IL	Not scored	5	13.3	188	−2.4%
Hamilton County, IL	Not scored	3	8.9	275	−1.7%
Schuyler County, IL	Not scored	4	14.6	162	−3.0%
Brown County, IL	Not scored	3	14.7	161	+2.7%
Henderson County, IL	Not scored	2	7.4	313	−5.6%
Edwards County, IL	Not scored	2	7.5	310	−5.0%
Putnam County, IL	Not scored	1	4.1	634	−0.1%
Stark County, IL	Not scored	2	8.8	282	−1.2%
Pulaski County, IL	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−6.9%
Scott County, IL	Not scored	1	4.9	492	−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	2	16.1	170	−2.2%
Pope County, IL	Not scored	2	14.4	163	−2.2%
Hardin County, IL	Not scored	1	6.5	339	−1.8%

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

Questions

How many real estate agents and brokers are in Illinois?

As of September 2026, map listings count 12,860 real estate agents and brokers in Illinois. 640 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 4,933 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 10.8% 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 12,860 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 7% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers 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 real estate agents and brokers?

Illinois has 25.5 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 107, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, Illinois would have about 13,733, against 12,860 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,021 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.

Which market in Illinois has the highest market score for real estate agents and brokers?

Among 12 scored metro areas in or partly in Illinois, the Decatur metro area scores highest, at 58 (upper middle). Among 21 scored small-town markets in or partly in Illinois, the Ottawa area scores highest, at 66 (upper middle). Among 82 scored counties in Illinois, Henry County scores highest, at 69 (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 41 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #35 of the 50 states and DC.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Illinois. It maps the real estate agents and brokers 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
Property management1,280 listings
Mortgage brokers and lenders1,997 listings
Home inspectors322 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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