About World Business Chicago ...
World Business Chicago (WBC) coordinates the city’s business attraction and retention efforts, raises Chicago’s profile as a premier business destination and serves as a resource for companies.
A not-for-profit economic development corporation, the organization advances Chicago’s position as a thriving global business location and enhances Chicago’s economy by fostering growth in the private sector; building the best city in the world in which to live, work, and play.
WBC’s staff navigates the site selection process for businesses by providing economic and industry data, site location assistance, state and local incentive information, and bringing together key parties to spur and accelerate economic growth.
As a public/private partnership between the City of Chicago and the private sector, WBC’s Board of Directors includes prominent business leaders who guide the enhancement of Chicago’s economy through the growth of its business community.
An Economic Force
Chicago has one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies, with 4.3 million employees and a gross regional product (GRP) of nearly $500 billion. It is an efficient economic powerhouse that is home to more than 400 major corporate headquarters (28 Fortune 500) and two major global financial exchanges.
- The heart of a 14-county metropolitan area
- Home to 9.6 million residents, a population that has grown by 6% (+503,000 people) since 2000
- 2.4+ million working-age adults are within a 50-minute commute of downtown Chicago
Access to the World
Centrally located, Chicago provides nonstop service to more than 200 cities worldwide, has the second largest public transportation system in the US, is among the five largest container ports in the world, and serves as a hub for all six major North American railroads and six major U.S. Interstates.
A Global City
Home to well over 1,500 foreign-based companies, Chicago has long been a hub of international business activity. Chicago is the only U.S. city with a top ranking for foreign investment among major international cities (IBM Global Location Trends), with more than $40 billion in foreign direct investment. International business resources include:
- 79 Consulates/Consuls General
- 40+ international/ethnic Chambers of Commerce
- 90+ foreign trade and investment organizations
- 28 international sister cities
An International City
Total trade in the Chicago area has increased from $95 billion in 2004 to more than $128 billion in 2009. Global exports, led by medical & optical instruments, industrial machinery, and pharmaceutical products, totaled $32 billion, while imports including electric machinery, industrial machinery, and mineral fuel totaled $97 billion.
Key Industries
Chicago’s economy thrives on a combination of mature (manufacturing and finance) and emerging (info-tech, research & development and green energy) industries.
Chicago consistently ranks in the Top 5 for GRP among 374 U.S. metro areas in the following traditional industries:
- Business & Financial Services - Top 10 Global Financial Center (GCFI report, March 2010) and home to nearly 20% of the global future, options & derivatives trading activity
- Manufacturing - Output (GRP) leader in electrical appliance, metal, plastics and rubber, food, machinery and paper product manufacturing
- Transportation & Distribution - Major center of transportation and warehousing, with the third highest GRP in the U.S.
Chicago is also a leader in a number of emerging industries including:
- Biotech - Global leader in biomed tech transfer, the conversion of biomedical knowledge and research to marketable products
- Information Technology - Most advanced communications exchange facility in the world providing cooperative interconnection point among numerous international advanced networks
- Green Energy - Expanding home of 18 wind power companies and more buildings registered and certified by the US Green Building Council than any other city
A Talented Workforce
Education is one of the key drivers behind a highly skilled and diversified workforce, and Chicago’s concentration of colleges and universities offer leading programs to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s global opportunities.
- Two of the top business schools in the world
- 250+ corporate research and development facilities
- 96 Nobel Prize winners
- 65,000 students downtown
- #2 Best City to Get a College Degree among 60 global cities
- 36,000 bachelor’s degrees, 30,000 master’s degrees and 6,000 doctoral degrees awarded annually by 90 colleges and universities in the Chicago area
Quality of Life
Chicago offers the amenities and opportunities of a global city, but maintains a high level of affordability and accessibility. There are 35 museums, more than 200 theater companies, dozens of destination retailers, more than 400 neighborhood festivals that showcase ethnic customs, music and food, and some of the top-ranked restaurants and hotels in the world. Chicago’s low cost of living and doing business ensures you can enjoy more of what the city has to offer.
Chicago Business Overview document