Local market data · Mortgage brokers · Chicago
AI for mortgage brokers in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 308 mortgage brokers in 2022, the 7th most of 239 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 1,710 people at an average of $116,271 a year. 86% 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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A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your mortgage broker to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Mortgage brokers in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 308 | 10,957 |
| People employed | 1,710 | 76,003 |
| Average staff per business | 5.6 | 6.9 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $116,271 | $91,842 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 86% | 89% |
Pay here is 27% higher than the national average for mortgage brokers, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average mortgage broker here has 5.6 people on payroll, 20% lower than the US figure of 6.9.
How big mortgage brokers in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Mortgage brokers by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 184 of the metro's 308 (60%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 3rd for average pay and 6th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 184 | 917 | $113,479 |
| DuPage County | 71 | 569 | $134,923 |
| Lake County | 19 | 93 | $78,430 |
| Kane County | 13 | 52 | $78,558 |
| Will County | 11 | 54 | $93,444 |
| McHenry County | 4 | 18 | $61,111 |
| Porter County | 3 | 6 | $27,500 |
Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a mortgage broker first
A mortgage broker should automate the repeat work that waits on someone: replying to new inquiries, chasing missing documents, and staying in touch with past borrowers. AI can draft, sort and remind, but a licensed person decides what is said about rates, programs and eligibility. Westward builds these pieces for brokerages and maps the best first one from your website for free.
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$134,400 a year
The share you would hand off$40,320 a year
Hours your team gets back720 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for mortgage brokers, one job each
- Get more customers for mortgage brokers
- Never miss a call for mortgage brokers
- Follow up automatically for mortgage brokers
- Booking and scheduling for mortgage brokers
- More reviews for mortgage brokers
- Marketing and content for mortgage brokers
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for mortgage brokers
- Cut admin and paperwork for mortgage brokers
- A dashboard that runs itself for mortgage brokers
Mortgage brokers in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 1,447 | $78,265 | 1st |
| New York | 523 | $144,579 | 2nd |
| Miami | 464 | $93,441 | 3rd |
| Dallas | 241 | $79,639 | 11th |
| Houston | 169 | $84,398 | 17th |
| Atlanta | 267 | $103,079 | 10th |
| Washington | 190 | $117,595 | 14th |
| Philadelphia | 185 | $103,674 | 15th |
| Boston | 126 | $113,207 | 21st |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 522310 (Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers), 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 brokerage can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your mortgage broker to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.