Private services still dwarf the rest of Cook County's economy but grew slowest of all

Since the turn of the century, Cook County's economy has leaned on private services above all. In 2024, that engine ran slower than the rest.

Inflation-adjusted output from the county's private service-providing industries rose 1% from 2023 to 2024, according to county GDP figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Goods-producing industries grew 2.2%. Government and government enterprises grew fastest, at 3.4%.

That order nearly flips the long-run picture. Since 2001, real output from private services has climbed 37.9%, or about 1.4% a year compounded. Over the same stretch, goods-producing output fell 18.5%, and government output fell 8.1%.

A services county, by a wide margin

In a county that runs from the Loop out to the suburban edge, the private services sector is the bulk of the economy. It produced 356,135,697 thousands of chained 2017 dollars in output in 2024, measured in 2017 dollars.

Goods producers turned out 40,526,933 thousands of chained 2017 dollars, and government 36,077,095 thousands of chained 2017 dollars. Even combined, those sectors come to a fraction of the services total.

That imbalance shapes how any given year plays out. A small percentage move in services carries more weight for the county as a whole than a big swing in either of the other sectors.

A better year for factories and public agencies

For goods producers, 2024 was a good year inside a long slide. Their gain of 2.2% beat the services sector's pace, but it left the sector's real output well short of where it stood in 2001.

Government told a similar story. Its 3.4% increase was the strongest of any sector in 2024. Even so, government output in Cook County ended the year below its 2001 level after adjusting for inflation.

For workers and employers, that is the divide the figures draw. Private services have carried the county's growth since 2001, while goods production and government have shrunk in real terms even after a stronger 2024.

Ahead of Illinois, behind the nation

The county-by-county comparisons on hand stop at 2023, a year before the sector figures. That year, Cook County's economy as a whole grew faster than Illinois's (bea.gov) (bea.gov) but trailed the nation's growth (bea.gov).

Among other big core counties, the results split. Harris County in the Houston area and Dallas County both grew faster than Cook in 2023 (bea.gov) (bea.gov). Los Angeles County and Detroit's Wayne County grew more slowly (bea.gov) (bea.gov).

Back home, the math of 2024 comes down to size. The 1% gain in private services, on a base that large, added more real output than the faster percentage gains in goods production and government combined.

About the data

We used the Bureau of Economic Analysis's county GDP estimates for Cook County, in chained 2017 dollars, for private goods-producing industries, private services-providing industries, and government and government enterprises. We compared each sector's 2024 output with 2001 and with 2023, computed compound annual growth over 2001 to 2024, and indexed each sector to its 2001 level for the chart. County, state and national comparisons for 2023 come from a separate BEA release.

• BEA revises earlier county GDP estimates with each annual update, so these figures may differ from older or newer releases .
• The comparisons with Illinois, the U.S. and other counties cover 2023, not 2024, and come from a different BEA release than the sector figures.
• GDP measures output, not jobs or wages, and these figures do not explain why any sector grew or shrank.

Real GDP (chained 2017 dollars): the value of goods and services produced, adjusted to remove the effect of inflation so different years can be compared. Goods-producing industries: in BEA's grouping, agriculture, mining, construction and manufacturing. Government and government enterprises: output of federal, state and local government, including government-run businesses.

Sources

• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED): Real Gross Domestic Product: Private Goods-Producing Industries in Cook County, IL, latest period 2024, released Feb. 5, 2026; retrieved Oct. 20, 2026. Data
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED): Real Gross Domestic Product: Private Services-Providing Industries in Cook County, IL, latest period 2024, released Feb. 5, 2026; retrieved Oct. 20, 2026. Data
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED): Real Gross Domestic Product: Government and Government Enterprises in Cook County, IL, latest period 2024, released Feb. 5, 2026; retrieved Oct. 20, 2026. Data