Chicago Metropolitan Area

January 6th, 2020

Kenneth Morales

Content Editor

The Chicago-Naperville-Elgin region, also known as the Chicago metro area, is a broad and densely-populated region spanning three states and 14 counties. These include Cook, DuPage, and Lake County in Illinois; Porter and Lake County in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin. Together, these counties create the third largest metro area in the United States, accounting for a population of approximately 9.5 million people.

As employers in and around metro regions like Chicago seek to hire the most qualified candidates for open job roles, hiring processes that take the whole region into account become critical. In an area with a heavily suburbanized landscape, many residents will choose to commute to work and may not seek employment in their counties of residence. This trend is particularly evident in the area around the city of Chicago.