Real estate · County · Illinois
Real estate businesses in Knox County, IL
How Knox 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 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #1,056 of 2,229 scored counties
#28 of 83 scored counties in Illinois
- Listings
- 24
- 3 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $261.4M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $12,465 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 251
- 2.5 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.4
- 70% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 47,767
- −4.1% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Knox 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 Knox 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
At $12,465 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in Knox County spend about $261.4M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 2.5 times 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.
Knox County has 24 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (13%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.4, 70% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Knox County in 2023. That is one for every 1,398 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 59 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Knox County from 2020 to 2025 at −4.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Knox County scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #1,056 of 2,229 scored counties and #28 of 83 scored counties in Illinois.
How Knox 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 | Knox County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.4 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 251 | 105 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,398 | 543 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.1% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.1% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $12,465 | $14,866 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $57,030 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 18 → 15
- Employees, 2023
- 34
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 59Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 243 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 60The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Knox 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 Knox County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 47,767−4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 20,972
- Median age
- 42.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 716 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 68
- Median household income
- $57,030+29.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,560
- Median home value
- $111,900
- Jobs located here
- 15,910
- Daytime population
- 44,318Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Knox 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 Knox 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 Knox 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 |
| 28Knox County, IL | 50 | 24 | 11.4 | 251 | −4.1% | #1,056 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Knox 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 Knox County, IL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 24 real estate businesses in Knox County. 3 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 59 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Knox County, IL spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $261.4M a year, or $12,465 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 24 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.5 times 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 20,972 households in Knox County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Knox County, IL compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Knox County has 11.4 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 70% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 251, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Knox County would have about 60, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,398 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is Knox County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Knox County at 47,767 people in 2025, down 4.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 20,972 households. Median household income in Knox County is $57,030, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.2%, 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. Knox County scores 50 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #1,056 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Knox 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 Knox County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Knox 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 Knox 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.