Real estate · County · Illinois
Real estate businesses in Cook County, IL
How Cook County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,146 of 2,229 scored counties
#82 of 83 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 7,906
- 582 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 4,797
- +1.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $31.4B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,972 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 92
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 37.6
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,194,625
- −1.3% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Cook County
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 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 27 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #2,146 of 2,229 scored counties and #82 of 83 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Cook County spend about $31.4B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $14,972 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. 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.
There are 7,906 real estate businesses on map listings in Cook County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That is 37.6 per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 4,797 businesses with payroll in Cook County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 1.3% from 2019. That is one for every 438 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 60 SBA-backed loans worth $14.7M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 | 37.6 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 92 | 105 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 438 | 543 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.3% | +4.1% | +15.8% |
| 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 | 27 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4,736 → 4,797+1.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 30,926
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 25,313Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7,906582 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7,259The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 60
- Amount
- $14.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 real estate businesses 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 cardReal estate across Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for real estate businesses, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Woodford County, IL | 70 | 10 | 6.8 | 514 | −0.8% | #199 of 2,229 |
| 2Boone County, IL | 67 | 19 | 9.8 | 348 | +0.4% | #286 of 2,229 |
| 3Douglas County, IL | 67 | 11 | 14.2 | 226 | +0.5% | #304 of 2,229 |
| 4Henry County, IL | 66 | 16 | 7.9 | 405 | −2.2% | #326 of 2,229 |
| 5Bureau County, IL | 66 | 11 | 7.8 | 394 | −2.1% | #327 of 2,229 |
| 6Randolph County, IL | 64 | 13 | 10.9 | 279 | −0.6% | #395 of 2,229 |
| 7Piatt County, IL | 64 | 12 | 17.3 | 201 | +0.6% | #414 of 2,229 |
| 8Clinton County, IL | 63 | 22 | 15.1 | 223 | +0.6% | #448 of 2,229 |
| 9Fulton County, IL | 62 | 13 | 9.4 | 314 | −2.0% | #481 of 2,229 |
| 10Shelby County, IL | 61 | 9 | 10.1 | 304 | −1.6% | #527 of 2,229 |
| 82Cook County, IL | 27 | 7,906 | 37.6 | 92 | −1.3% | #2,146 of 2,229 |
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
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Cook County, IL?
As of September 2026, map listings count 7,906 real estate businesses in Cook County. 582 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 4,797 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 1.3% from 2019. Another 25,313 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
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 7,906 real estate businesses on map listings, 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. 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 real estate businesses?
Cook County has 37.6 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 92, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Cook County would have about 7,259, against 7,906 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 438 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 27 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #2,146 of 2,229 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 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 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.