Chicago is one of the top ten financial centers in the world, and is the third largest metro area in the United States, behind New York and Los Angeles. In 2003 it was ranked as the most diverse economy in the nation and since then has been the fastest growing metro economy for new or expanded corporate offices for five of the past seven years, ranking third the other two years.

• Financial Assets: Residents of Cook County, Illinois account for 66% of the Chicago metropolitan area population, yet they own only 55% of the $954 billion in financial assets in the area, excluding assets held in real estate and 401(k) and 503(b) retirement accounts. Cook County households increased their investments held in annuities by $631 million in 2010, totaling $15.8 billion as of December 2010.
• Income and Employment: Between December 2009 and December 2010, average household incomes of Chicago residents rose by 5% to $91,700, and the unemployment rate declined from 11.1% to 9.3%. In Cook County, the average household income as of the end of 2010 was $80,120, 13% lower than the average income of households living in the greater Chicago metro area.
• Auto Debt: In the Chicago metro area, the average total auto loan debt for households with at least one car loan was $14,460 as of December 2010. As of June 2011, there were 1.2 million active auto tradelines in the metro area, and 3.8% of them were delinquent 30 days or more, down from 4.4% a year ago. The national average auto delinquency rate in June was 3.6%.
• Credit Tradelines: The number of credit tradelines in Chicago affected by a bankruptcy filing fell 14% between December 2009 and December 2010.

In the near term, Chicago’s economy will be largely affected by the speed of the recovery in the financial services and banking industries. Its position as a global leader in finance, business, manufacturing and entertainment along with its very deep labor pool position it as a strong growth location once the drag from the recession wanes.