Business Climate

Home to an unrivaled economy, workforce, and quality of life, Chicago is a thriving metropolis, yet a tight-knit community for business and residents. The city's dynamic character can be attributed to its people, its location and infrastructure, and its collaborative business and government community.

Centrally located, Chicago provides easy access to the world. The city has 2,900 daily flights including direct and nonstop service to more than 200 cities worldwide, and serves as a hub for all six Class-One North American railroads, as well as six major U.S. Interstates.

Chicago is a leader in a number of key industries including: Business & Financial Services, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Health Services, and Transportation & Distribution, and is a global leader in options, futures, and derivatives trading.

This combination of market access and economic diversity provides the resources a company needs to flourish. Alongside Chicago's pro-business environment, support services, and unique opportunities for growth, the city also offers a vibrant mix of cultural, educational, and social amenities.

As Big as a Country

• $480+ billion gross regional product (GRP), larger than countries like Belgium, Sweden and Austria
• 9.7 million people, 4.3 million employees, and more than 250,000 businesses
• Global and Diverse Economy
• 28 Fortune 500 HQs
• 12 FT Global 500 HQs
• 10 Fortune Global 500 HQs
• 400+ Major Corporate Headquarters

The World's Workforce

• Culturally diverse private-sector labor force of 4.3 million people
• At least 30 ethnic groups with a population greater than 25,000
• 1,500 foreign-owned firms in Chicago area

Center of the World

• At the center of one of the largest trading areas in the world: the east-west nexus joining the markets of Europe and Asia and the north-south nexus of NAFTA
• 42% of North America's consumers are less than two days' drive away
• Chicago's location, central time zone and non-stop passenger service means that you can fly to nearly any U.S. city and return on the same business day
• Within a 4-hour flight of all major North American business destinations
• Less than 10 hours from the major European business centers
• Daily non-stops to Japan, Korea and China
• A non-stop global gateway to 54 international and 148 domestic business centers
• Only U.S. gateway where all six Class-One railroads interchange traffic
• Nearly 150 intermodal facilities across the region – 41 in the city
• More than half of area real estate is devoted to warehouse/distribution
• Leading advanced telecommunications infrastructure supports interconnected regional, national and international networks

The Good Life

• Affordable cosmopolitan metropolis
• 80 miles (129 km) of public shoreline and 94 vacation beaches
• Outstanding public, private and parochial schools
• More Five-Diamond-rated restaurants than any other city in the U.S.
• 2 Michelin Guide 3-Star restaurants of 9 in North America
• The only U.S. city with four Tony awarding winning theater companies
• Home to two of the world's Top 10 hotels and five Conde Nast Gold List hotels

Metro Pulse
Dive deeper into the data using The Regional Indicators Project for Metropolitan Chicago