Local market data · Marketing agencies · Chicago
AI for marketing agencies in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 575 marketing agencies in 2022, the 4th most of 297 US metros and 4% of all in the country. They employed 14,673 people at an average of $103,651 a year. 72% 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.
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Marketing agencies in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 575 | 14,962 |
| People employed | 14,673 | 195,282 |
| Average staff per business | 25.5 | 13.1 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $103,651 | $105,123 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 72% | 80% |
Pay here is about the same as the national average for marketing agencies, so an hour of admin costs about what it does elsewhere. The average marketing agency here has 25.5 people on payroll, 96% higher than the US figure of 13.1.
How big marketing agencies in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Marketing agencies by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 383 of the metro's 575 (67%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 5th for average pay and 9th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 383 | 13,405 | $105,628 |
| DuPage County | 77 | 872 | $86,680 |
| Lake County | 40 | 88 | $65,318 |
| Kane County | 18 | 166 | $69,976 |
| McHenry County | 18 | 59 | $93,746 |
| Will County | 17 | 35 | $122,571 |
| Lake County | 10 | 23 | $56,130 |
| Porter County | 5 | 9 | $18,889 |
| DeKalb County | 3 | 4 | $56,250 |
| Kendall County | 3 | 11 | $41,909 |
Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a marketing agency first
A marketing agency gets the most from AI on the running of the agency, not just the client deliverables: responding to new leads, writing proposals, onboarding clients, building monthly reports and chasing approvals. Those are the tasks that eat a founder’s week. Start with the one that happens most often.
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$520,000 a year
The share you would hand off$156,000 a year
Hours your team gets back3,120 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for marketing agencies, one job each
- Get more customers for marketing agencies
- Never miss a call for marketing agencies
- Follow up automatically for marketing agencies
- Booking and scheduling for marketing agencies
- More reviews for marketing agencies
- Marketing and content for marketing agencies
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for marketing agencies
- Cut admin and paperwork for marketing agencies
- A dashboard that runs itself for marketing agencies
Marketing agencies in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 1,355 | $120,801 | 2nd |
| New York | 1,568 | $125,531 | 1st |
| Miami | 583 | $91,280 | 3rd |
| Dallas | 452 | $89,175 | 5th |
| Houston | 257 | $86,752 | 10th |
| Atlanta | 325 | $102,371 | 9th |
| Washington | 243 | $111,178 | 15th |
| Philadelphia | 349 | $91,847 | 6th |
| Boston | 205 | $117,618 | 16th |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 541810 (Advertising agencies), 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 agency can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your marketing agency to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.