Chicago is considered a Megalopolis with a population of 8,675,982 and 213,358 businesses. 3,491 in 2018 were added to the Chicago Chamber of Commerce business directory which was more than 2017 which had 3,421.

The economy of Chicago employs 5,760,852 people and has an unemployment rate of 9.9%. Some of the largest industries in Chicago are Restaurants (9,287),Professional Services (8,497), and Attorneys (6,161).