Real estate · Metro area · Illinois
Real estate businesses in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area
The real estate businesses in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #345 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 14,032
- 1,166 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 7,979
- +2.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $56.1B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,401 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 92
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 38.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 9,434,123
- 0.0% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area scores 34 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #345 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 14,032 real estate businesses in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 38.5, in line with the U.S. rate of 38.5.
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 8% below 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 businesses take in.
Official counts show 7,979 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. That is one for every 457 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 102 SBA-backed loans worth $27.3M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area held about level, 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.
| Measure | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 38.5 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 92 | 105 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 457 | 543 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +2.5% | +4.1% | +15.8% |
| 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 | 34 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7,979+2.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 43,615
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.9B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 45,449Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14,0321,166 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12,955The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 102
- Amount
- $27.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 real estate businesses 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 cardReal estate across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for real estate businesses, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Decatur, IL | 58 | 69 | 15.9 | 191 | −4.3% | #106 of 387 |
| Paducah, KY-IL | 58 | 91 | 21.8 | 149 | −1.2% | #107 of 387 |
| 2Peoria, IL | 57 | 321 | 20.9 | 154 | −1.3% | #112 of 387 |
| 3Rockford, IL | 56 | 263 | 19.4 | 161 | −0.3% | #123 of 387 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 56 | 354 | 21.9 | 146 | −0.9% | #124 of 387 |
| 4Springfield, IL | 51 | 208 | 23.1 | 141 | −1.2% | #169 of 387 |
| 5Kankakee, IL | 51 | 97 | 23.7 | 135 | −1.7% | #170 of 387 |
| 6Bloomington, IL | 49 | 217 | 30.9 | 108 | +0.1% | #190 of 387 |
| Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 45 | 99 | 25.8 | 118 | +1.7% | #234 of 387 |
| 7Champaign-Urbana, IL | 42 | 274 | 27.9 | 112 | +1.5% | #255 of 387 |
| 8Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 34 | 14,032 | 38.5 | 92 | 0.0% | #345 of 387 |
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
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 14,032 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 1,166 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 7,979 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 2.5% from 2019. Another 45,449 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
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 14,032 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 8% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses?
The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area has 38.5 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 92, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area would have about 12,955, against 14,032 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 457 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 34 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #345 of 387 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 real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · 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.