Cook County, IL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.89, -87.65.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 78th pct · 666th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 94th pct · 7th of 102 Illinois counties · median $158,551
- 50th pct · 7th of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median $340,258
- 81st pct · 565th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 60th pct · 41st of 102 Illinois counties · median +5.0%
- 91st pct · 2nd of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median +3.6%
- 91st pct · 122nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 90th pct · 4th of 32 Illinois counties · median $1,198
- 70th pct · 4th of 11 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median $2,105
- 99th pct · 2nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 102 Illinois counties · median 7,611
- 100th pct · 1st of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median 94,945
- 98th pct · 47th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 99th pct · 2nd of 102 Illinois counties · median $1,061
- 91st pct · 2nd of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median $1,235
- 27th pct · 2,227th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 69th pct · 32nd of 102 Illinois counties · median 2.8
- 0th pct · 13th of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median 4.9
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $340,258 (Sep 2026), +6.0% over one year, +23.2% over five
- 78th pct · 666th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 94th pct · 7th of 102 Illinois counties · median $158,551
- 50th pct · 7th of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median $340,258
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | $340,258 · +6.0% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,228/mo (Sep 2026), +5.1% over one year; price-to-rent 12.7
- 91st pct · 122nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 90th pct · 4th of 32 Illinois counties · median $1,198
- 70th pct · 4th of 11 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median $2,105
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | $2,228/mo · +5.1% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,885 a month on $340,258 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $8,732 a month: 21.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $340,258 × 80% = $272,206, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,885/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $2,015 × 52 / 12 = $8,732) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $340,258 / ($2,015 × 52) = 3.2
- price-to-rent = $340,258 / ($2,228 × 12) = 12.7
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
2.57 m jobs at 139,775 employers (2026 Q1); +0.3% jobs and +4.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 99th pct · 2nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 102 Illinois counties · median 7,611
- 100th pct · 1st of 13 counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro · median 94,945
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | 2.57 m jobs · $2,015/wk · +0.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 402,415 | $1,260 | 1.04 | +2.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 233,387 | $3,042 | 1.32 | -0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 227,858 | $717 | 0.99 | +0.2% |
| Retail trade | 207,606 | $847 | 0.83 | -1.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 178,352 | $1,381 | 1.22 | +0.2% |
| Manufacturing | 177,334 | $1,825 | 0.86 | -2.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 162,455 | $6,646 | 1.55 | +1.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 143,414 | $1,698 | 1.32 | +1.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 93,568 | $2,634 | 0.95 | -3.5% |
| Other services | 91,882 | $1,332 | 1.20 | -3.1% |
| Educational services | 89,537 | $1,547 | 1.62 | -0.5% |
| Construction | 71,753 | $2,046 | 0.53 | +0.9% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$466.1 bn in deposits at 1,120 offices of 90 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,134, moderately concentrated. $36.4 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $28.7 bn, contracts $4.3 bn), $14,162 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $96.9 bn · 20.8% share · 156 offices | |
| BMO Bank National Association | $94.2 bn · 20.2% share · 84 offices | |
| CIBC Bank USA | $49.0 bn · 10.5% share · 5 offices | |
| Cook, IL | $36.4 bn FY2026 · $14,162/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $96,857,119,000 | 20.8% | 156 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $94,213,992,000 | 20.2% | 84 |
| CIBC Bank USA | $49,021,538,000 | 10.5% | 5 |
| The Northern Trust Company | $39,050,296,000 | 8.4% | 2 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $35,739,027,000 | 7.7% | 81 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $18,166,586,000 | 3.9% | 100 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $12,023,993,000 | 2.6% | 16 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $11,969,270,000 | 2.6% | 73 |
| Citibank, National Association | $10,584,000,000 | 2.3% | 43 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $10,412,661,000 | 2.2% | 70 |
Deposit concentration is 1,134 across 87 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 87 banks with deposits in the county = 20.8² + 20.2² + 10.5² + … (84 more) = 1,134
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
That is $14,162 per covered job, against 2,569,918 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $36.4 bn / 2.57 m covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,162
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Cook County, IL: 22 findings, 1 at a watch level and 21 noted
watchCook County, IL's years of wages of 3.2 scores 27 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 69 across Illinois counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |27 across US counties - 69 across Illinois counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteCook County, IL's average weekly wage was 4.3% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +4.3 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteCook County, IL's typical home value rose 0.7% from $338,036 in August 2026 to $340,258 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (340257.85196524725 - 338036.2820565619) / 338036.2820565619 × 100
- 340257.85196524725 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 338036.2820565619 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteCook County, IL's typical asking rent fell 0.3% from $2,235 in August 2026 to $2,228 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (2227.715884491958 - 2234.504365263474) / 2234.504365263474 × 100
- 2227.715884491958 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 2234.504365263474 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteCook County, IL's covered employment was 0.3% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.