NAICS 52

Finance and Insurance in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL

Metro Market Score 72.3 (Difficult), ranked #305 of 331 metros. 12,855 establishments, 219,566 jobs.

Metro Market Score 72.3

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national finance and insurance average.

💰High-Cost Market

Market conditions for finance and insurance in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin are tougher than average. The 72.3 market score reflects a combination of high labor costs, mixed growth signals, and an already crowded field. Rank: #305 of 331 metros.

Industry Concentration

92.8

LQ: 1.22

Rank #307 of 331 metros

Wage Competitiveness

98.5

$174,104 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 43.2

Employment growth index

Rank #189 of 331 metros

Wage Pressure

37.0

YoY wage change index

12,855 Finance and Insurance Firms in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

12,855

Establishments

-2.6% YoY

219,566

Total Employment

-1.4% YoY

$174,104

Average Annual Wage

+2.7% YoY

1.22

Location Quotient

Above national avg

Within Illinois

#6 of 6

finance and insurance metros in state

Illinois state rank

#10 of 51

for finance and insurance entry risk

vs State Median

+16.3

worse than median (56.0)

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin vs Illinois Statewide

How this metro's finance and insurance market compares to Illinois overall. The state ranks #10/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin	IL Statewide
Overall Score	72.3 Difficult	46.2 Elevated
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#305 of 331 metros	#10 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

Construction 61.1 Retail Trade 63.1 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 69.1 Administrative and Support Services 81.1

Finance and Insurance in Other Illinois Metros

Kankakee 25.8 #23/331 Rockford 53.0 #198/331 Champaign-Urbana 54.1 #210/331 Decatur 56.0 #226/331 Bloomington 59.3 #242/331

Finance and Insurance Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's 72.3 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Columbia, MO 72.3 #304/331 Greensboro-High Point, NC 72.1 #303/331 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 72.0 #302/331 Manchester-Nashua, NH 72.5 #306/331 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 72.0 #301/331 Fargo, ND 72.7 #307/331 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 72.7 #308/331 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 72.8 #309/331 Madison, WI 72.8 #310/331 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 70.8 #300/331

Finance and Insurance in States Bordering Illinois

State-level entry risk for finance and insurance in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Kentucky 40.0 #3/51 Wisconsin 45.3 #8/51 Indiana 45.4 #9/51 Iowa 54.3 #35/51 Missouri 57.7 #43/51

Browse Finance and Insurance in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for finance and insurance across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Chicago-Naperville-Elgin's finance and insurance sector, the wage competitiveness component (98.5) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment