8.21.2008

chicago-cook economy 
Chicago-Cook County, located along 86km (33 miles) of Lake Michigan shoreline in the state of Illinois, is home to the city of Chicago and 134 suburban towns. It is the second largest county in the U.S. and North America’s most ethnically diverse region where 130 languages are spoken and one million residents are born outside the U.S.
 
Global Economy
  • Chicago-Cook County is at the center of an economy that is itself the nexus of Europe and Asia, as well as NAFTA: the trading fulcrum of the Northern Hemisphere. In the most recent U.S. Census estimate, the Chicago Metropolis' population has increased to 9.4 million.
  • The Chicago Metropolis is one of the world's largest and most diversified economies equivalent to the 16th largest nation (larger than the GDP of Indonesia, Switzerland or the State of Michigan) with a Gross Regional Product of more than $423 billion. From 2003 to 2005, Chicago's economy grew by nearly $18 billion.
  • With a 25% growth in jobs since 1985 (64% growth in the service sector alone), Chicago-Cook County's greatest strength and core competitive strategy is global emergence through economic diversification and social diversity.
 
Market Access
  • Chicago handles more air passenger traffic than any other city in the world – 86 million passengers. Thirty-two international business carriers provide non-stop service to 69 international capitals and 134 domestic business centers.
  • Chicago-Cook is the world's business meeting place with more trade shows, conventions, and corporate meetings than any other city in the world. Chicago has the second largest cluster of national trade associations in the U.S.
  • Chicago is North America’s telecommunications hub with the world's largest commercial Internet exchange point by volume and the world's only cooperative interconnection point for international advanced networks (STAR TAP).
  • Chicago is the nation's busiest rail hub and the Western Hemisphere’s leading intermodal container port (more than twice the volume of LA and more than five times that of NY) and the only 50/50 Asia/Europe port in the U.S.
  • 417000 truckloads of freight (1.6+ million tons) are shipped and from Chicago each day and more than 36000 outbound rail carloads on 37 routes. 29% of the North American industrial economy and 42% of North America’s consumers are within one day's truck delivery.
  • 29 of the Fortune 500 and 84 publicly-traded companies are headquartered here.
 
Human Capital
  • A workforce of 4.2 million and more than 226,500 businesses.
  • The Chicago area has 639500 manufacturing workers (400000 precision production workers) with the largest manufacturing GRP in the nation ($60 billion).
  • There are 97000 information technology workers in the region and the largest concentration of computer programmers and software engineers (45350) in the U.S. (235% more than Silicon Valley).
  • Chicago is an international leader in the trading of commodities, stock options, currency, and interest rate futures, with 150000 direct and indirect jobs or 64% of total U.S. industry employment.
  • Seven of the top 34 digital consulting houses are headquartered in the Chicago area (3 in NYC and 0 in LA).
 
Talent
  • There are approximately 400000 students enrolled in 57 colleges and universities.
  • More than 26000 masters, 3600 professional and 1700 doctoral degrees are awarded annually.
  • More than 1000 companies operate research facilities in the Chicago Metropolis.
  • Chicago area companies are awarded 5500 patents and trademarks annually; Schaumburg-based Motorola, Inc. is the 2nd largest U.S. recipient of patents after IBM.
  • Chicago has produced 96 Nobel Prize and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners; the University of Chicago has more Nobel Prize winners than any other U.S. university.
  • Argonne National Laboratory is one of the top 10 institutions in the world for physical science research citations.
 
Quality of Life
  • Illinois has one of the lowest personal income tax rates in the nation - a flat 3%. Marginal rates in other states are typically twice as high (including 7% in New York and 9.3% in California).
  • Wealth of Chicago-Cook households (2005 median household income was $46,242) is 10% above the national average.
  • Chicago-Cook has 76 foreign consular offices – more than any other U.S. city outside Washington, D.C.
  • There are 292 square miles (756 sq. km.) of parks and recreational areas, or 1.5 times bigger than the entire city of Chicago, and more than 14700 restaurants.
  • The only U.S. city to boast three Tony Award winning theater companies.
  • The world's largest public library building with more than 9 million items is in Chicago.
  • The Chicago area is also home to 1 million foreign-born residents and 116 foreign media outlets (television, radio, newspapers).
 
Real Estate
  • The cost of office and industrial space in the Chicago Metropolis is significantly less than that in major overseas markets, according to a 1998 study by Deloitte & Touche Fantus Consulting.
  • 48 percent of all available industrial real estate is designated for warehouse/distribution use (506.6 million sq. ft. existing space and 17.5 million sq. ft. new under construction).
CHICAGO: MARKET TRENDS SUMMARY
Metro Market Outlook—Chicago 3Q 2006
 
CBD OFFICE
Chicago's downtown office sector has a $28.30 per square foot effective rent for Class A office, which is 0.4% higher than last quarter and 2.0% higher than last year. This metro has a $287.50 per square foot average price for CBD office, which is 0.2% higher than last quarter and 9.9% higher than last year. The metro has a 16.6% CBD office vacancy rate, which is 0.2% lower than last quarter and 0.9% higher than last year.
 
SUBURBAN OFFICE
The metro of Chicago has a $22.95 per square foot effective rent for Class A suburban office, which is 0.0% lower than last quarter and 1.1% lower than last year. This metro has a $195.29 per square foot average price for suburban office, which is 1.0% higher than last quarter and 3.6% higher than last year. The metro has an 18.3% suburban office vacancy rate, which is 1.2% lower than last quarter and 0.5% higher than last year.
 
WAREHOUSE
The metro of Chicago has a $5.30 per square foot effective rent for warehouse, which is 0.4% higher than last quarter and 3.5% higher than last year. This metro has a $61.67 per square foot average price for warehouse, which is 4.2% higher than last quarter and 12.7% higher than last year. The metro has a 9.1% vacancy, which is 0.4% higher than last quarter and 0.4% higher than last year.
 
RETAIL
The metro of Chicago has a $21.57 per square foot effective rent for Class A unenclosed shopping centers, which is 1.0% higher than last quarter and 3.8% higher than last year. This metro has a $206.77 per square foot average price for shopping centers, which is 0.5% higher than last quarter and 3.3% higher than last year.
 
APARTMENT
The metro of Chicago has a $14.16 per square foot effective rent for Class A apartments, which is 0.6% higher than last quarter and 3.9% higher than last year. This metro has a $135.79 per square foot average price for apartments, which is 0.0% lower than last quarter and 6.5% higher than last year.
 
Source: NREI Rent Monitor; Value Monitor; and Metro Market Outlook,Section III. Historical data taken from prior quarter and year-ago NREI Metro Market Factsreports.
 
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