Real estate · Small-town market · Illinois
Real estate businesses in the Ottawa, IL area
How the Ottawa, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #76 of 536 scored small-town markets
#1 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 81
- 12 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 31
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $845.5M
- On rent and homeowner costs · $13,667 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 241
- 2.4 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.1
- 66% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 145,902
- −1.6% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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
At $13,667 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Ottawa area spend about $845.5M a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 2.4 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.
The Ottawa area has 81 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 12 are chain locations, or 15%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 13.1 for every 10,000 households, 66% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 31 businesses with payroll in the Ottawa area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors. That is one for every 1,996 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 353 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Ottawa area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For real estate businesses, the Ottawa area has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #76 of 536 scored small-town markets and #1 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Ottawa 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 | Ottawa area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.1 | 32.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 241 | 105 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,996 | 543 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.1% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $13,667 | $14,866 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $72,230 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 31
- Employees, 2023
- 103
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 353Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8112 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 195The 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 the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 145,902−1.6% since 2020
- Households
- 61,866
- Median age
- 43.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 2,164 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 68
- Median household income
- $72,230+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,689
- Median home value
- $156,400
- Jobs located here
- 52,301
- Daytime population
- 131,372Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ottawa area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Ottawa 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 small-town markets in Illinois for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Ottawa area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, IL | 66 | 81 | 13.1 | 241 | −1.6% | #76 of 536 |
| 2Canton, IL | 64 | 13 | 9.4 | 314 | −2.0% | #90 of 536 |
| 3Lincoln, IL | 61 | 16 | 14.2 | 217 | −2.5% | #120 of 536 |
| 4Dixon, IL | 57 | 23 | 17.2 | 183 | −3.4% | #165 of 536 |
| 5Sterling, IL | 53 | 39 | 16.9 | 181 | −2.6% | #225 of 536 |
| 6Jacksonville, IL | 52 | 22 | 14.5 | 210 | −3.1% | #238 of 536 |
| 7Effingham, IL | 51 | 36 | 19.9 | 163 | −0.9% | #252 of 536 |
| 8Danville, IL | 50 | 46 | 15.3 | 190 | −3.7% | #264 of 536 |
| 9Taylorville, IL | 50 | 23 | 16.9 | 177 | −1.5% | #266 of 536 |
| 10Galesburg, IL | 49 | 24 | 11.4 | 251 | −4.1% | #273 of 536 |
Other business types in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa, IL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 81 real estate businesses in the Ottawa area. 12 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 31 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 353 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ottawa, IL area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $845.5M a year, or $13,667 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 81 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.4 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 61,866 households in the Ottawa area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ottawa, IL area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The Ottawa area has 13.1 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 66% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 241, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Ottawa area would have about 195, against 81 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,996 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ottawa, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Ottawa area at 145,902 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 61,866 households. Median household income in the Ottawa area is $72,230, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Ottawa area scores 66 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #76 of 536 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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.