Local market data · Bars and breweries · Chicago
AI for bars and breweries in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 1,474 bars and breweries in 2022, the 2nd most of 377 US metros and 4% of all in the country. They employed 15,324 people at an average of $27,427 a year. 69% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.
Talk through your bar with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your bar or brewery to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Bars and breweries in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 1,474 | 40,258 |
| People employed | 15,324 | 401,424 |
| Average staff per business | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $27,427 | $24,814 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 69% | 68% |
Pay here is 11% higher than the national average for bars and breweries, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average bar or brewery here has 10.4 people on payroll, 4% higher than the US figure of 10.0.
How big bars and breweries in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Bars and breweries by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 891 of the metro's 1,474 (60%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 5th for average pay and 2nd for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 891 | 10,022 | $29,782 |
| Lake County | 102 | 763 | $26,809 |
| Lake County | 96 | 745 | $18,372 |
| Will County | 88 | 720 | $19,875 |
| DuPage County | 84 | 1,161 | $26,206 |
| Kane County | 73 | 790 | $24,065 |
| McHenry County | 63 | 678 | $23,942 |
| DeKalb County | 21 | 141 | $19,844 |
| Porter County | 21 | 131 | $14,145 |
| Grundy County | 14 | 55 | $16,836 |
| Kendall County | 13 | 91 | $17,967 |
| Jasper County | 4 | 18 | $19,722 |
1 smaller counties not shown. Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a bar or brewery first
Start with the places a bar loses guests and money without noticing: private event inquiries that sit unanswered, calls missed during a rush, and a Google listing with the wrong hours. AI can answer, sort and follow up on those while your team pours. Westward builds these for bars and breweries, and a person approves anything that goes out.
What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago
Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.
Those hours cost you$52,000 a year
The share you would hand off$15,600 a year
Hours your team gets back1,200 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for bars and breweries, one job each
- Get more customers for bars and breweries
- Never miss a call for bars and breweries
- Follow up automatically for bars and breweries
- Booking and scheduling for bars and breweries
- More reviews for bars and breweries
- Marketing and content for bars and breweries
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for bars and breweries
- Cut admin and paperwork for bars and breweries
- A dashboard that runs itself for bars and breweries
Bars and breweries in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 974 | $26,428 | 3rd |
| New York | 2,507 | $36,591 | 1st |
| Miami | 398 | $33,640 | 16th |
| Dallas | 544 | $25,358 | 8th |
| Houston | 724 | $24,374 | 5th |
| Atlanta | 284 | $26,535 | 30th |
| Washington | 310 | $30,976 | 28th |
| Philadelphia | 793 | $23,266 | 4th |
| Boston | 325 | $30,895 | 27th |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 722410 (Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.
Find the hours your bar can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your bar or brewery to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.