City rankings

Fastest-growing cities for new businesses in Illinois

Hazel Crest grew fastest: 218 new businesses, up 195% from the 12 months before. Chicago had the most new businesses of any Illinois city in the 12 months through September 2026: 43,630, 27% of the state total.

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Fastest-growing Illinois cities

#	City	New businesses	Year before	Change
1	Hazel Crest	218	74	+195%
2	Calumet City	458	169	+171%
3	Richton Park	224	83	+170%
4	Bellwood	209	81	+158%
5	Olympia Fields	158	64	+147%
6	Dolton	282	115	+145%
7	Lynwood	158	65	+143%
8	Park Forest	254	106	+140%
9	Sugar Grove	158	66	+139%
10	Lansing	440	184	+139%
11	Crest Hill	200	85	+135%
12	Markham	160	68	+135%
13	South Holland	470	201	+134%
14	Riverdale	128	55	+133%
15	Harvey	216	93	+132%
16	Maywood	290	127	+128%
17	Chicago Ridge	279	123	+127%
18	Oak Forest	274	121	+126%
19	Marengo	126	56	+125%
20	Justice	194	87	+123%
21	East Saint Louis	238	108	+120%
22	Joliet	1,451	660	+120%
23	Wonder Lake	116	53	+119%
24	Dixon	151	69	+119%
25	Lockport	391	181	+116%

New businesses formed in the 12 months through September 2026 against the 12 months before. Cities with at least 100 this year and 50 the year before.

Illinois cities with the most new businesses

#	City	New businesses	Share of state	Change
1	Chicago	43,630	27%	+75%
2	Springfield	3,553	2%	+15%
3	Naperville	3,107	2%	+56%
4	Aurora	2,290	1%	+81%
5	Schaumburg	2,193	1%	+32%
6	Rockford	1,639	1%	+97%
7	Des Plaines	1,541	1%	+42%
8	Elgin	1,538	1%	+77%
9	Plainfield	1,498	1%	+72%
10	Joliet	1,451	1%	+120%
11	Orland Park	1,295	1%	+63%
12	Skokie	1,294	1%	+51%
13	Arlington Heights	1,202	1%	+41%
14	Evanston	1,069	1%	+51%
15	Peoria	1,061	1%	+97%
16	Oak Park	1,052	1%	+67%
17	Palatine	1,028	1%	+40%
18	Northbrook	1,018	1%	+36%
19	Bolingbrook	1,014	1%	+69%
20	Glenview	964	1%	+45%
21	Champaign	899	1%	+66%
22	Mount Prospect	893	1%	+42%
23	Downers Grove	875	1%	+42%
24	Lombard	873	1%	+60%
25	Hoffman Estates	862	1%	+42%

New businesses formed in the 12 months through September 2026.

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Common questions

Which Illinois city has the most new businesses?

Chicago had the most new businesses of any Illinois city in the 12 months through September 2026: 43,630, 27% of the state total.

Which Illinois city is growing fastest for new businesses?

Hazel Crest grew fastest: 218 new businesses, up 195% from the 12 months before. The ranking covers cities with at least 100 new businesses in the 12 months through September 2026 and 50 in the 12 months before.

Where do these numbers come from?

From Illinois's official business registry. ListRiver counts businesses by the formation date the state reports and the city of the business address on file.

Monthly Illinois new-business reports · All states ranked · Illinois businesses by county and city

Methodology

Counts are businesses registered with the state of Illinois whose formation (registration) date falls in the period shown and that appear on the state register in ListRiver's data. City is the business address on file, with spellings as the state records them. Businesses already dissolved are not counted, so the earlier 12 months are slightly understated and increases slightly overstated; the effect is similar across a state's cities, so the order is a fair comparison. More in the methodology.

Cite this page: ListRiver, “Fastest-growing cities for new businesses in Illinois”, https://listriver.com/reports/new-businesses/illinois/cities. Journalists and researchers are welcome to use these figures with a link.