The third most populous city in the United States, Chicago represents a vast portion of the US market within its population of approximately 3 million people. Like most major cities, Chicago is extends well beyond its municipal bounds. The greater metropolitan Chicago area, often referred to as "Chicagoland," includes cities in three states, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. This sprawling metropolitan district consists of 9.7 million people. Due to the sheer size of Chicago's metropolitan space, Chicago is known as the financial, business, cultural, and transportation center for the Midwest. This economic powerhouse also represents the third largest Gross Metropolitan Product in the nation, weighing in at about 442 billion dollars per year (2007 estimates).

Why does Chicago matter to market researchers? The fact that Chicago represents such a wide market makes it important to market researchers because it is indicative of broader consumer trends in the US market. You could make the argument that Chicago is particularly important as a source of consumer trends because its role as the third largest inter-modal port in the world, behind Hong Kong and Singapore, amplifies its influence throughout the United States. Chicago's media market is the third largest in the US falling just behind those in New York City and Los Angeles. Most importantly, Chicago represents the forgotten middle of the country. Companies are too often lost with "coastal" preoccupations, focusing on markets in the bustling eastern megalopolis or in the sprawl of suburban southern California. Chicago affords researchers an accessible, representative population from which to draw conclusions about consumer preferences throughout the country's interior.

Serious market research firms necessarily incorporate data garnered from Chicago markets to compare and contrast with other US cities. Since almost 10 million people are affected in the greater-Chicago area, many different consumer segments within the market niches are influential to sales revenue. Market researchers can utilize focus groups to gain information and data about these various markets and trends about consumer preferences.

When conducting research in Chicago, it's imperative to engage a firm that has extensive experience reaching out to every socioeconomic swath of the City with Big Shoulders.

Site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago
http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab03a.csv