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Cook County, IL — Day care Saturation

Name: Day care density by ZIP code in Cook County, IL
Creator: BizGapMap

How many day care exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 186 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Child day care centers · Preschools & pre-K · Family home day care · After-school programs. Counted together because official statistics use one 624410 code.

Measured density: Above average — 1.24× the U.S. rate (between 1.24× and 1.30× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 56 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 36 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Above the U.S. rate Cook County day care — 124–130% of the U.S. rate

1,605 day care are counted in Cook County — 2.5 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 124% of the U.S. rate of 2.0.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 13% between 2015 and 2023 (1,362 → 1,536). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 60022 (Glencoe), 60475 (Steger), 60636 (Chicago) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 60016 (Des Plaines), 60169 (Hoffman Estates), 60453 (Oak Lawn).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 1,633 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Cook County sits at 124% of the U.S. rate for day care. 36 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 124% and 130% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 60022 and 60475; the lowest measured density is in 60016 and 60169.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing day care and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Day care

1,605–1,717

published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (56 cells) (2023)

Per 10,000 present

2.5

residents + daytime workers

U.S. average

2.0

per 10,000 present

County index

1.24×

vs. U.S.

Latest year (CBP)

1,633

2023 — $809M annual payroll

Residents

5,132,257

166 ZIPs with data

Workers

2,445,383

jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population

5,182,617

Census PEP, July 1 2024

Change since 2020

−1.6%

−84,455 people

Net migration 2024

+30,570

international +67,763, domestic −37,193

Jobs located here

2,616,104

LODES 2022, −1.9% since 2019

Cook County had an estimated 5,182,617 residents on July 1, 2024 — 1.6% fewer than in 2020 (−84,455). In the latest year it gained 40,095 people: births minus deaths +9,459, international migration +67,763, domestic migration −37,193. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

2,616,104 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (−1.9% since 2019), and 2,331,664 employed residents lived there (−3.2% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits → · Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents

2015–19 → 2020–24

Change

60654 Chicago

+28.6%

60605 Chicago

+24.6%

60611 Chicago

+13.5%

ZIP losing residents

2015–19 → 2020–24

Change

60445 Midlothian

−44.7%

60426 Harvey

−16.7%

60827 Riverdale

−13.2%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses

13,294

no paid employees (2024)

Receipts

$286.9M

published gross receipts

Receipts per business

$22K

gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:

Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more day care in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 13% since 2015

Number of day care in Cook County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

1,362

2015

1,387

2018

1,446

2020

1,440

2021

1,515

2022

1,536

2023

Highest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

60022 Glencoe

413%

60475 Steger

329%

60636 Chicago

305%

60409 Calumet City

304%

60619 Chicago

299%

60628 Chicago

299%

60620 Chicago

280%

60643 Chicago

254%

60651 Chicago

252%

60438 Lansing

243%

60647 Chicago

241%

60804 Cicero

241%

60617 Chicago

235%

60629 Chicago

232%

60639 Chicago

225%

Lowest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

60016 Des Plaines

35%

60169 Hoffman Estates

38%

60453 Oak Lawn

44%

60656 Chicago

46%

60613 Chicago

49%

60803 Alsip

50%

60706 Harwood Heights

53%

60068 Park Ridge

53%

60007 Elk Grove Village

54%

60018 Des Plaines

57%

60631 Chicago

58%

60638 Chicago

58%

60612 Chicago

60%

60074 Palatine

60%

60053 Morton Grove

66%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few day care may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIP	Neighborhood	Type	Residents	Workers	Day care	Index
60603	Chicago	Destination	1,298	60,606	8	125%
60607	Chicago	Employment hub	32,392	68,600	16	118%
60604	Chicago	Destination	616	41,171	4	93%
60173	Schaumburg	Employment hub	13,650	52,694	7	86%
60654	Chicago	Employment hub	25,755	68,006	5	41%
60661	Chicago	Employment hub	11,398	64,670	3	34%
60611	Chicago	Employment hub	37,705	89,024	5	30%
60601	Chicago	Employment hub	15,235	83,170	3	26%
60141	Hines	Destination	195	3,318	0–2	—
60208	Evanston	Destination	255	20,972	0–2	—

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = day care per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIP	Neighborhood	Residents	Workers	Day care	Per 10k	Index	Status
60022	Glencoe	8,352	2,391	8	8.4	413%	Very high density
60475	Steger	10,035	887	7	6.7	329%	Very high density
60636	Chicago	32,198	3,505	21	6.2	305%	Very high density
60409	Calumet City	35,100	7,660	24	6.2	304%	Very high density
60619	Chicago	59,503	6,093	38	6.1	299%	Very high density
60628	Chicago	60,431	7,654	39	6.1	299%	Very high density
60620	Chicago	64,871	7,319	39	5.7	280%	Very high density
60195	Schaumburg	4,397	5,331	4	5.7	279%	Very high density
60643	Chicago	45,942	9,019	26	5.2	254%	Very high density
60651	Chicago	63,335	6,154	34	5.1	252%	Very high density
60438	Lansing	28,806	7,275	16	4.9	243%	High density
60647	Chicago	84,749	18,625	46	4.9	241%	High density
60804	Cicero	82,797	14,661	44	4.9	241%	High density
60617	Chicago	74,790	9,915	38	4.8	235%	High density
60629	Chicago	108,324	8,370	53	4.7	232%	High density
60639	Chicago	84,240	15,433	42	4.6	225%	High density
60153	Maywood	23,201	11,871	13	4.5	220%	High density
60402	Berwyn	63,721	12,054	31	4.4	219%	High density
60618	Chicago	91,901	20,260	45	4.4	217%	High density
60634	Chicago	73,885	9,038	34	4.3	214%	High density
60652	Chicago	41,074	5,715	19	4.3	213%	High density
60827	Riverdale	24,713	2,241	11	4.3	210%	High density
60649	Chicago	48,056	4,778	21	4.2	205%	High density
60302	Oak Park	32,862	7,083	15	4.1	203%	High density
60443	Matteson	20,663	7,534	10	4.1	202%	High density
60625	Chicago	76,760	12,820	33	4.0	196%	High density
60428	Markham	10,927	3,809	5	3.9	192%	High density
60707	Elmwood Park	41,116	6,357	17	3.8	189%	High density
60304	Oak Park	16,955	2,964	7	3.8	187%	High density
60473	South Holland	21,225	10,974	10	3.7	184%	High density
60471	Richton Park	12,848	1,435	5	3.7	182%	High density
60632	Chicago	89,107	20,101	36	3.6	179%	High density
60426	Harvey	23,906	7,383	10	3.6	179%	High density
60558	Western Springs	13,446	2,222	5	3.4	169%	High density
60641	Chicago	68,894	12,906	25	3.3	163%	High density
60659	Chicago	41,728	9,683	15	3.2	159%	High density
60194	Schaumburg	19,756	5,345	7	3.1	154%	High density
60425	Glenwood	8,714	1,909	3	3.1	153%	High density
60202	Evanston	32,341	7,547	11	3.0	150%	High density
60025	Glenview	41,689	15,355	15	3.0	150%	Above average
60621	Chicago	28,301	3,833	9	3.0	147%	Above average
60439	Lemont	24,192	12,721	9	2.9	145%	Above average
60478	Country Club Hills	16,390	2,171	5	2.9	141%	Above average
60653	Chicago	33,383	3,171	10	2.9	141%	Above average
60411	Chicago Heights	52,175	15,397	17	2.8	140%	Above average
60640	Chicago	65,445	17,714	21	2.8	139%	Above average
60630	Chicago	55,486	9,520	17	2.8	139%	Above average
60609	Chicago	62,028	18,440	20	2.8	138%	Above average
60644	Chicago	47,210	5,433	14	2.8	138%	Above average
60645	Chicago	48,208	4,307	14	2.8	137%	Above average
60642	Chicago	21,789	21,425	9	2.8	136%	Above average
60164	Melrose Park	20,872	8,892	7	2.8	136%	Above average
60646	Chicago	28,780	8,214	9	2.7	135%	Above average
60419	Dolton	20,825	2,530	6	2.7	134%	Above average
60406	Blue Island	23,327	4,972	7	2.7	134%	Above average
60616	Chicago	54,308	24,459	18	2.7	133%	Above average
60546	Riverside	16,322	4,686	5	2.7	132%	Above average
60430	Homewood	19,838	12,628	7	2.7	132%	Above average
60201	Evanston	43,744	25,259	15	2.7	131%	Above average
60155	Broadview	7,906	6,792	3	2.7	131%	Above average
60614	Chicago	70,693	27,556	22	2.6	128%	Above average
60076	Skokie	32,953	19,696	11	2.6	127%	Above average
60162	Hillside	8,084	7,285	3	2.6	126%	Above average
60603	Chicago	1,298	60,606	8	2.5	125%	Above average
60465	Palos Hills	18,081	3,499	5	2.5	124%	Above average
60608	Chicago	80,737	29,377	24	2.5	124%	Above average
60637	Chicago	52,721	31,368	17	2.5	122%	Above average
60104	Bellwood	18,256	3,868	5	2.5	122%	Above average
60090	Wheeling	38,298	20,419	12	2.5	122%	Above average
60093	Winnetka	19,867	10,004	6	2.4	119%	Above average
60607	Chicago	32,392	68,600	16	2.4	118%	Above average
60622	Chicago	54,609	25,035	16	2.4	117%	Above average
60056	Mount Prospect	55,818	17,452	15	2.3	115%	Above average
60429	Hazel Crest	14,864	4,802	4	2.3	114%	Above average
60445	Midlothian	14,268	6,940	4	2.3	111%	Above average
60193	Schaumburg	40,146	9,409	10	2.2	110%	Above average
60466	Park Forest	21,461	2,093	5	2.2	109%	Above average
60624	Chicago	35,263	6,140	8	2.1	103%	Above average
60660	Chicago	42,724	11,098	10	2.1	102%	Above average
60077	Skokie	28,501	20,601	8	2.1	102%	Above average
60176	Schiller Park	11,393	6,458	3	2.1	101%	Above average
60452	Oak Forest	26,739	5,281	6	2.0	101%	Above average
60615	Chicago	42,975	7,045	9	1.9	95%	Below average
60604	Chicago	616	41,171	4	1.9	93%	Below average
60457	Hickory Hills	14,503	3,211	3	1.9	92%	Below average
60131	Franklin Park	18,054	17,688	5	1.9	92%	Below average
60623	Chicago	81,277	12,534	16	1.8	90%	Below average
60657	Chicago	71,904	20,985	15	1.8	90%	Below average
60160	Melrose Park	24,549	17,614	6	1.8	89%	Below average
60463	Palos Heights	13,722	6,296	3	1.8	88%	Below average
60004	Arlington Heights	51,835	20,130	11	1.8	88%	Below average
60067	Palatine	38,204	13,951	8	1.8	87%	Below average
60133	Hanover Park	36,732	6,371	7	1.8	86%	Below average
60173	Schaumburg	13,650	52,694	7	1.8	86%	Below average
60467	Orland Park	24,398	8,422	5	1.7	86%	Below average
60062	Northbrook	41,406	46,099	11	1.7	84%	Below average
60633	Chicago	12,474	10,315	3	1.7	84%	Below average
60626	Chicago	49,662	7,775	9	1.7	83%	Below average
60107	Streamwood	38,886	6,624	7	1.7	82%	Below average
60091	Wilmette	27,333	5,627	5	1.7	82%	Below average
60712	Lincolnwood	13,112	10,293	3	1.6	81%	Below average
60026	Glenview	14,069	8,480	3	1.6	81%	Below average
60459	Burbank	28,739	4,621	5	1.6	79%	Below average
60005	Arlington Heights	28,843	20,389	6	1.5	76%	Below average
60192	Hoffman Estates	16,461	7,007	3	1.5	74%	Below average
60605	Chicago	36,210	22,820	7	1.5	72%	Below average
60154	Westchester	16,436	9,124	3	1.4	70%	Below average
60714	Niles	30,305	24,130	6	1.4	70%	Below average
60477	Tinley Park	35,976	13,621	6	1.4	69%	Below average
60610	Chicago	44,883	24,563	8	1.4	69%	Below average
60525	La Grange	31,324	41,056	7	1.3	67%	Below average
60053	Morton Grove	24,619	10,528	4	1.3	66%	Below average
60074	Palatine	36,460	8,793	5	1.2	60%	Below average
60612	Chicago	35,744	44,360	7	1.2	60%	Below average
60638	Chicago	57,074	37,741	9	1.2	58%	Below average
60631	Chicago	30,924	23,781	5	1.2	58%	Below average
60018	Des Plaines	27,952	47,694	6	1.2	57%	Below average
60007	Elk Grove Village	32,592	44,419	6	1.1	54%	Below average
60068	Park Ridge	38,650	15,904	5	1.1	53%	Below average
60706	Harwood Heights	24,260	7,647	3	1.1	53%	Below average
60803	Alsip	22,106	15,497	3	1.0	50%	Far below average
60613	Chicago	52,244	15,412	6	1.0	49%	Far below average
60656	Chicago	29,538	5,140	3	0.9	46%	Far below average
60453	Oak Lawn	56,861	20,791	6	0.9	44%	Far below average
60654	Chicago	25,755	68,006	5	0.8	41%	Far below average
60169	Hoffman Estates	33,401	10,355	3	0.8	38%	Far below average
60016	Des Plaines	60,898	17,329	5	0.7	35%	Far below average
60661	Chicago	11,398	64,670	3	0.7	34%	Far below average
60611	Chicago	37,705	89,024	5	0.6	30%	Far below average
60601	Chicago	15,235	83,170	3	0.5	26%	Far below average
60006	Arlington Heights	—	36	0–2	—	—	Not published
60008	Rolling Meadows	22,800	21,481	0–2	—	—	Not published
60017	Des Plaines	—	170	0–2	—	—	Not published
60029	Golf	518	88	0–2	—	—	Not published
60043	Kenilworth	2,503	555	0–2	—	—	Not published
60065	Northbrook	—	201	0–2	—	—	Not published
60070	Prospect Heights	15,496	1,603	0–2	—	—	Not published
60078	Palatine	—	40	0–2	—	—	Not published
60082	Techny	—	184	0–2	—	—	Not published
60130	Forest Park	13,943	7,440	0–2	—	—	Not published
60141	Hines	195	3,318	0–2	—	—	Not published
60159	Schaumburg	—	14	0–2	—	—	Not published
60161	Melrose Park	—	61	0–2	—	—	Not published
60163	Berkeley	5,199	1,517	0–2	—	—	Not published
60165	Stone Park	4,482	1,140	0–2	—	—	Not published
60168	Schaumburg	—	27	0–2	—	—	Not published
60171	River Grove	10,451	2,096	0–2	—	—	Not published
60179	Hoffman Estates	—	1,237	0–2	—	—	Not published
60196	Schaumburg	—	3,103	0–2	—	—	Not published
60203	Evanston	4,680	390	0–2	—	—	Not published
60204	Evanston	—	160	0–2	—	—	Not published
60208	Evanston	255	20,972	0–2	—	—	Not published
60301	Oak Park	3,475	4,793	0–2	—	—	Not published
60303	Oak Park	—	20	0–2	—	—	Not published
60305	River Forest	11,992	4,595	0–2	—	—	Not published
60412	Chicago Heights	—	43	0–2	—	—	Not published
60415	Chicago Ridge	14,099	4,484	0–2	—	—	Not published
60418	Crestwood	10,572	2,133	0–2	—	—	Not published
60422	Flossmoor	9,542	1,424	0–2	—	—	Not published
60454	Oak Lawn	—	156	0–2	—	—	Not published
60455	Bridgeview	16,872	10,328	0–2	—	—	Not published
60456	Hometown	4,215	339	0–2	—	—	Not published
60458	Justice	14,200	1,189	0–2	—	—	Not published
60461	Olympia Fields	4,761	3,726	0–2	—	—	Not published
60462	Orland Park	41,456	17,270	0–2	—	—	Not published
60464	Palos Park	9,773	1,758	0–2	—	—	Not published
60469	Posen	5,205	774	0–2	—	—	Not published
60472	Robbins	4,563	217	0–2	—	—	Not published
60476	Thornton	1,940	780	0–2	—	—	Not published
60480	Willow Springs	5,388	773	0–2	—	—	Not published
60482	Worth	10,897	1,288	0–2	—	—	Not published
60487	Tinley Park	26,043	6,646	0–2	—	—	Not published
60499	Bedford Park	—	77	0–2	—	—	Not published
60501	Summit Argo	11,432	4,212	0–2	—	—	Not published
60513	Brookfield	19,343	3,146	0–2	—	—	Not published
60526	La Grange Park	13,459	1,746	0–2	—	—	Not published
60534	Lyons	10,327	2,008	0–2	—	—	Not published
60602	Chicago	1,480	33,916	0–2	—	—	Not published
60606	Chicago	3,840	203,655	0–2	—	—	Not published
60655	Chicago	28,434	3,995	0–2	—	—	Not published
60666	Chicago	—	37,159	0–2	—	—	Not published
60673	Chicago	—	7	0–2	—	—	Not published
60680	Chicago	—	80	0–2	—	—	Not published
60690	Chicago	—	25	0–2	—	—	Not published
60699	Chicago	—	50	0–2	—	—	Not published
60805	Evergreen Park	19,420	6,844	0–2	—	—	Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

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Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

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Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 624410 — child day care services. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 1,633 establishments and $809M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (2.03 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.