Illinois · Market data

Taxi and limousine market data for Cook County, IL

Cook County, IL supports 332 taxi and limousine businesses across 5,182,617 residents. Below: how those operators break down by size, how the market compares with its state and the country, and what the sector pays — all from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

332
For-hire businesses
1,303
Sector employees
90%
Under 5 employees
6.41
Per 100,000 residents

Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

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89 licensed hackney carriages and 243 private hire vehicles, a total of 332 licensed vehicles. Hackney carriages are 26.8 per cent of the licensed fleet.332licensed vehicles
89 hackney (26.8%)243 private hire

Key takeaways

  • Cook County, IL has 332 taxi and limousine businesses, ranking 4 of 348 published county markets.
  • The split is 89 taxi and ridesharing operators to 243 limousine operators.
  • 89.8 per cent of local operators employ fewer than five people.
  • That is 6.41 for-hire businesses per 100,000 residents, against a national median of 2.16.
  • The sector employs about 1,303 people locally.

Cook County, IL for-hire market in numbers

Every row is read from the federal business census, or is arithmetic over it. Derived rows show their working.

Taxi and limousine industry statistics for Cook County, IL, County Business Patterns 2023
MeasureCook County
CountyCook County, IL
StateIllinois
Residents (Census 2024 estimate)5,182,617
Taxi and limousine establishments332
Taxi and limousine employeesCensus noise flag G — approximate.1,303
Taxi and limousine annual payroll$53.0m
Taxi and ridesharing establishments89
Taxi and ridesharing employeesCensus noise flag H — approximate.583
Taxi and ridesharing annual payroll$24.9m
Limousine establishments243
Limousine employeesCensus noise flag H — approximate.720
Limousine annual payroll$28.1m
Operators with 1-4 employees298
Operators with 5-9 employees17
Operators with 10-19 employees8
Operators with 20-49 employees6
Operators per 100,000 residentsderived332 establishments ÷ 5,182,617 residents × 100,000.6.41
Share of operators with fewer than 5 employeesderived298 of 332 establishments.89.8%
Annual payroll per employeederived$53.0m payroll ÷ 1,303 employees.$40,652
Taxi share of taxi-plus-limousine operatorsderived89 taxi ÷ 332 taxi and limousine establishments.26.8%
Rank among published US county marketsderivedBy taxi and limousine establishments.4 of 348

Source: United States Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. About County Business Patterns.

How does Cook County, IL compare on operators per head?

Cook County, IL6.41Illinois median3.46US median2.16
Taxi and limousine businesses per 100,000 residents — Cook County, IL against its state and the national median — businesses per 100,000 residents.

How big is the for-hire market in Cook County, IL?

Cook County, IL has 332 taxi and limousine businesses in the 2023 County Business Patterns, employing about 1,303 people — 89 in taxi and ridesharing services and 243 in limousine service.

This is one of the largest for-hire markets in the country by operator count, and competition is between established businesses rather than between individuals.

Are operators in Cook County, IL large fleets or owner-drivers?

89.8 per cent of operators in Cook County, IL employ fewer than five people, against a median of 67.1 per cent across the 348 published county markets.

Nearly every operator here employs fewer than five people. That is an owner-driver market: the person taking the booking is often the person driving, so software that needs a dedicated dispatcher to sit in front of it does not fit.

The full distribution: 298 with 1-4 employees, 17 with 5-9 employees, 8 with 10-19 employees and 6 with 20-49 employees.

Is Cook County, IL over- or under-served for for-hire vehicles?

Cook County, IL has 6.41 taxi and limousine businesses per 100,000 residents, against a national median of 2.16.

Operators per head are far above the national midpoint, which is typical of counties serving an airport, a downtown core or a large visitor economy rather than only their own residents.

Within Illinois the median is 3.46 per 100,000, so this county is denser than its state norm.

What does the for-hire workforce in Cook County, IL cost?

Annual payroll works out at about $40,652 per employee across the sector in Cook County, IL.

That level of payroll means labour, not vehicles, is the dominant cost — so utilisation per paid hour is the number worth managing.

FAQ

Cook County, IL taxi market: common questions

How many taxi and limousine companies are there in Cook County, IL?
332 establishments in the 2023 County Business Patterns, of which 89 are classified as taxi and ridesharing services. CBP counts business locations rather than vehicles, and withholds detail where publishing it would identify an individual company.
Are taxi businesses in Cook County, IL mostly small?
89.8 per cent employ fewer than five people — effectively an owner-driver market. The national median across published county markets is 67.1 per cent.
Is there room for another taxi operator in Cook County, IL?
Cook County, IL supports 6.41 for-hire businesses per 100,000 residents against a national median of 2.16. Density this far above the median means new entrants compete against established names for the same trips.
Is Cook County, IL a taxi market or a limousine and black-car market?
89 operators are classified as taxi and ridesharing services and 243 as limousine service. Limousine and black-car businesses outnumber taxi businesses here, which points to pre-booked executive, event and airport work rather than street-hail demand.
What is the population of Cook County, IL?
5,182,617 residents in the Census Bureau's 2024 population estimate. Population is the denominator behind the per-100,000 comparisons on this page, and it is worth noting that a county serving an airport or a large visitor economy carries demand well beyond its resident count.

Markets comparable to Cook County

Closest by operator count, weighted towards the same state.

County markets with a comparable operator base to Cook County, IL
CountyOperatorsPer 100,000
Los Angeles County, CA3393.47
Kings County, NY56521.58
Nassau County, NY17912.86
Queens County, NY79434.27
Westchester County, NY12412.32
Suffolk County, NY1187.68

Other Illinois county markets

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