HomeIllinoisCook CountyChicago
Chicago, Illinois: commercial real estate data.
Chicago is a Census city of 2,711,226 people across 227.75 square miles of land, in Cook County. Median household income is $77,902, 46.0 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 2,727 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $1.31 bn since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Chicago
What Chicago is
- Census place typecity
- Land area227.75 sq mi
- Water area6.79 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land11,905
- County holding the largest share of its areaCook County, 98.9 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chicago
How many people live in Chicago
- Population2,711,226
- Median age35.8
- Population under 18525,626
- Share under 1819.4 percent
- Population 65 and over374,665
- Share 65 and over13.8 percent
- Households1,160,205
- Family households579,777
- Share of households that are families50.0 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chicago
Income and work in Chicago
- Median household income$77,902
- Per capita income$50,086
- Civilian labor force1,517,330
- Employed1,395,899
- Unemployed121,431
- Unemployment rate8.0 percent
- Adults 25 and over1,924,658
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher87.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher44.3 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree19.0 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chicago
Housing in Chicago
- Housing units1,277,054
- Occupied units1,160,205
- Vacant units116,849
- Vacancy rate9.1 percent
- Owner occupied534,012
- Renter occupied626,193
- Ownership rate46.0 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$334,100
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,440
- Annual rent as a share of median income22.2 percent
- Single family units372,680
- Share single family29.2 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more900,942
- Share in buildings of two or more70.5 percent
- Mobile homes3,061 plus or minus 722
- Median year structure built1953
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chicago
How Chicago gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute1,078,013
- Commuting under 15 minutes140,252
- Share commuting under 15 minutes13.0 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more615,174
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more57.1 percent
- Drove alone44.7 percent
- Carpooled7.3 percent
- Public transport17.7 percent
- Walked5.8 percent
- Worked from home21.0 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Chicago
SBA loans in Chicago (7(a))
- Approvals2,727
- Gross approval$1,307,203,600
- Average approval$479,356
- Median approval$185,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,242,160
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported34,339
- Jobs per approval12.6
- Loans with a final outcome488
- Paid in full425
- Charged off63
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans12.9 percent
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more15.4 percent
- Share to franchises7.7 percent
- Distinct lenders148
- Distinct industries by NAICS384
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chicago, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Chicago
SBA loans in Chicago (504)
- Approvals964
- Gross approval$728,517,000
- Average approval$755,723
- Median approval$493,000
- Largest approval$5,500,000
- Jobs supported10,117
- Loans with a final outcome278
- Charged off8
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans2.9 percent
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs8
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chicago, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Chicago
Flood risk in Chicago
- NFIP communityCity of Chicago
- NFIP community number170074
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date09/10/21
The City of Chicago participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 170074 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Cook County, not Chicago
Cook County context, not Chicago figures
- Establishments in Cook County134,513
- Covered employment, Cook County2,565,567
- Average annual pay, Cook County$86,931
- Housing units permitted, Cook County6,507
Every figure in this section is published for Cook County as a whole and is not a measurement of Chicago.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Chicago questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Chicago, Illinois?
2,711,226, in 1,160,205 households. Chicago city covers 227.75 square miles of land, which is 11,905 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Chicago in?
Cook County, which holds 98.9 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Chicago?
$77,902. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $334,100. Median gross rent is $1,440 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Chicago businesses?
2,727 7(a) approvals totaling $1.31 bn since FY2020, across 148 lenders, median approval $185,000, plus 964 504 approvals worth $728.5 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Chicago, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Chicago borrowers get paid back?
Of the 488 loans that have reached a final outcome, 425 were paid in full and 63 charged off, a charge off rate of 12.9 percent. Loans still running are excluded because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
Is Chicago in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Chicago appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Chicago, city of, community 170074, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Chicago figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Cook County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Chicago.
Is zoning published for Chicago?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.