B2B cold email software in Illinois
Verified federal data on the Illinois business market, plus outreach guides for its largest cities and service industries. Acqro researches every company on your list and writes each email from what it finds.
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How many businesses are in Illinois?
Illinois had 322,415 business establishments in 2023, ranking 5th among the 50 states and DC, with 82,838 of them employing 10 to 249 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns. Acqro is AI cold email software that researches each of those companies before writing to them.
The Illinois B2B market in numbers
- Business establishments
- 322,4150.0% vs 2022Census CBP 2023
- Firms with 10–249 employees
- 82,838Census CBP 2023
- Paid employees
- 5,661,761Census CBP 2023
- Average annual pay
- $72,398Census CBP 2023
- Professional services firms
- 37,946Census CBP 2023, NAICS 54
- Share of US establishments
- 3.9%Census CBP 2023
73.4% of establishments in Illinois have fewer than 10 employees, in line with the 73.0% share for the United States. The 82,838 establishments with 10 to 249 employees are where most B2B lists should start: large enough to have a budget and a defined buyer, small enough that an owner or department head still makes the call and reads their own email.
By employment, the largest sectors are health care and social assistance (15.1% of jobs) and retail trade (10.1% of jobs). Relative to the national mix, management of companies and enterprises (4.1% locally against 2.8% nationally) and transportation and warehousing (6.2% locally against 4.7% nationally) stand out, which makes them natural first segments for outbound.
The number of establishments changed by 0.0% between 2022 and 2023, slower than the +0.8% change for the United States. New and growing businesses are the accounts most likely to be choosing vendors for the first time, so pair that list with research on hiring, new locations and leadership changes before writing a single email.
Largest industries in Illinois
Sectors ranked by paid employment, compared with the national mix.
| Sector | Establishments | Employees | Avg. annual pay | Share of jobs | US share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 37,597 | 857,043 | $61,336 | 15.1% | 15.8% |
| Retail trade | 35,801 | 571,091 | $37,101 | 10.1% | 11.5% |
| Manufacturing | 12,465 | 544,438 | $73,590 | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 30,226 | 523,877 | $27,086 | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| Administrative, support and waste management services | 16,966 | 474,445 | $52,222 | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 37,946 | 467,150 | $120,096 | 8.3% | 7.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 19,310 | 365,093 | $133,100 | 6.4% | 5.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 20,586 | 349,235 | $59,171 | 6.2% | 4.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 15,961 | 322,193 | $97,991 | 5.7% | 4.5% |
| Other services | 32,694 | 235,195 | $48,823 | 4.2% | 4.0% |
Where Illinois businesses are concentrated
Counties ranked by number of business establishments.
| County | Establishments | Share of state | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 134,513 | 41.7% | 2,492,328 |
| DuPage County | 34,121 | 10.6% | 595,691 |
| Lake County | 20,076 | 6.2% | 337,069 |
| Will County | 17,085 | 5.3% | 267,545 |
| Kane County | 13,537 | 4.2% | 194,921 |
| McHenry County | 8,140 | 2.5% | 87,684 |
| Winnebago County | 6,286 | 1.9% | 117,137 |
| Madison County | 5,659 | 1.8% | 93,915 |
| St. Clair County | 4,973 | 1.5% | 72,871 |
| Sangamon County | 4,925 | 1.5% | 80,005 |
Cold email guides for Illinois cities
Each guide covers the county that contains the city.
| City | County | Establishments in county |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora | Kane County | 13,537 |
| Chicago | Cook County | 134,513 |
| Naperville | DuPage County | 34,121 |
| Rockford | Winnebago County | 6,286 |
B2B service industries in Illinois
Establishment counts in Illinois for the service industries Acqro customers work in. Each links to an outreach guide.
| Industry | Census industry (NAICS) | Establishments |
|---|---|---|
| Law Firms | Offices of Lawyers | 6,918 |
| Commercial Insurance Brokers | Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | 5,679 |
| Commercial Real Estate Brokers | Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers | 4,933 |
| Management Consultants | Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services | 3,736 |
| Software Development Agencies | Custom Computer Programming Services | 2,838 |
| Commercial Cleaning Companies | Janitorial Services | 2,520 |
| CPA and Accounting Firms | Offices of Certified Public Accountants | 2,229 |
| Healthtech Vendors | Computer Systems Design Services | 2,200 |
| SEO Agencies | Marketing Consulting Services | 1,921 |
| Staffing Agencies | Temporary Help Services | 1,511 |
| Logistics Providers | Freight Transportation Arrangement | 1,274 |
| Architecture Firms | Architectural Services | 944 |
| Financial Advisory Firms | Investment Advice | 886 |
| Office Design Firms | Interior Design Services | 708 |
| Marketing Agencies | Advertising Agencies | 655 |
| Cybersecurity Firms | Other Computer Related Services | 631 |
| SaaS Companies | Software Publishers | 618 |
| Corporate Caterers | Caterers | 513 |
| Video Production Companies | Motion Picture and Video Production | 461 |
| HR Consultancies | Human Resources Consulting Services | 410 |
| Commercial Waste Services | Solid Waste Collection | 389 |
| Managed Service Providers | Computer Facilities Management Services | 354 |
| PR Agencies | Public Relations Agencies | 336 |
| Executive Search Firms | Executive Search Services | 329 |
| Corporate Training Providers | Professional and Management Development Training | 323 |
| Event Management Companies | Convention and Trade Show Organizers | 266 |
| Business Telecom and VoIP Providers | Telecommunications Resellers | 189 |
| Payroll Providers | Payroll Services | 168 |
| Merchant Services Providers | Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities | 154 |
| Translation Services | Translation and Interpretation Services | 102 |
Cold email in Illinois, answered
How many businesses are in Illinois?
Illinois had 322,415 business establishments in 2023, employing 5,661,761 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
What are the largest industries in Illinois?
By paid employment in 2023: health care and social assistance (15.1% of jobs), retail trade (10.1% of jobs) and manufacturing (9.6% of jobs). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
Is cold email legal in the United States?
Yes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act permits commercial email to business contacts without prior consent, provided the message identifies the sender accurately, uses a truthful subject line, includes a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and honours opt-out requests promptly. CAN-SPAM applies in every state and preempts most state commercial email laws, except provisions aimed at falsity or deception. This is general information, not legal advice.
Explore related pages
Guides for Illinois
Other states
Sources and methodology
Every figure on this page comes from a federal statistical release and is shown with its source and reference year. Figures the agencies withhold or publish with high noise are left out rather than estimated. Page updated September 17, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022: establishments, paid employment for the pay period including March 12, annual payroll, and establishments by employment size. Industries use NAICS 2017 codes.
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