Chicago’s tech sector keeps on climbing.
Chicago’s 100 biggest digital tech companies alone employ nearly 48,000 people, up from 41,000 in 2016. That number was bolstered by growth from pillar tech companies and up-and-comers alike.
Chicago’s biggest tech companies continue to grow
The number of people employed by Chicago’s biggest tech companies rose 15 percent between 2016 and 2017. That figure hews closely to last year’s report, which found a year-over-year growth rate of 17 percent.
Competition to make the Top 100 list tightened, with Vibes, Yello and Vail Systems tied for 100th place, reporting 140 employees each. That employee threshold is up significantly from 2016, when the 100th company reported 112 employees.
A number of fast-growing startups, including Tempus, G2 Crowd and ShipBob, landed just shy of this year’s Top 100 with robust headcounts that would have handily landed them on last year’s list.
Growth driven by locals and satellites alike
Several companies reported headcount growth in the hundreds, including homegrown companies like Relativity and Uptake as well as out-of-towners like Salesforce and Uber. Relativity, which rebranded from kCura earlier this year, rose eight spots from last year’s ranking — reporting 225 more jobs in the process. Salesforce tacked on nearly 250 employees to break into our top 10 with an even 1,000 headcount, while Uber doubled its local roster to 600.
Uptake climbed five spots with 200 additional employees, and shares the 17th spot with Yelp and CCC Information Services. In addition to being one of the city’s largest tech employers, Uptake has the notable distinction of being one of its youngest, having only been founded in 2014.
Young companies help fuel the ecosystem’s growth
Eight percent of this year’s top 100 companies were founded in 2012 or later. Top 100 startups founded within the past five years employ a total of 2,501 people in Chicago. Moreover, a quarter of the companies on the list were founded in the past decade.
Rank: 1 | Employees: 2209 | Founded: 1928 | Communication
Rank: 2 | Employees: 1400* | Founded: 2005 | Logistics
Rank: 3 | Employees: 2000 | Founded: 2008 | E-commerce
Rank: 4 | Employees: 1478 | Founded: 1984 | Fintech
Rank: 5 | Employees: 1350 | Founded: 2000 | Fintech
Rank: 6 | Employees: 1195 | Founded: 1998 | Web
Rank: 7 | Employees: 1176 | Founded: 2004 | Fintech
Rank: 8 | Employees: 1157 | Founded: 1985 | Software
Rank: 9 | Employees: 1150 | Founded: 2006 | Logistics
Rank: 10 | Employees: 1000 | Founded: 1999 | Cloud computing
Rank: 11 | Employees: 900 | Founded: 1999 | Software
Rank: 12 | Employees: 864 | Founded: 2006 | Communication
Rank: 13 | Employees: 854 | Founded: 2004 | E-commerce
Rank: 14 | Employees: 850 | Founded: 1989 | E-commerce
Rank: 14 | Employees: 1201* | Founded: 1998 | Recruitment
Rank: 16 | Employees: 823 | Founded: 2009 | E-commerce
Rank: 17 | Employees: 800 | Founded: 1980 | Automotive
Rank: 17 | Employees: 800 | Founded: 2014 | Data analytics
Rank: 17 | Employees: 800 | Founded: 2004 | Consumer web
Rank: 20 | Employees: 750 | Founded: 2001 | Legal tech
Rank: 21 | Employees: 740 | Founded: 2000 | HR
Rank: 22 | Employees: 700 | Founded: 1998 | Automotive
Rank: 23 | Employees: 696 | Founded: 1969 | Marketing
Rank: 24 | Employees: 690 | Founded: 1998 | Marketing
Rank: 25 | Employees: 660 | Founded: 1997 | HR
Rank: 26 | Employees: 632 | Founded: 1999 | B2B
Rank: 27 | Employees: 600 | Founded: 2006 | Healthcare
Rank: 27 | Employees: 600 | Founded: 2009 | Transportation
Rank: 29 | Employees: 560 | Founded: 1998 | Marketing
Rank: 30 | Employees: 541 | Founded: 2001 | Healthcare
Rank: 31 | Employees: 532 | Founded: 2000 | Recruiting
Rank: 32 | Employees: 526 | Founded: 2003 | Recruiting
Rank: 33 | Employees: 507 | Founded: 1981 | Supply chain
Rank: 34 | Employees: 500 | Founded: 2001 | Consumer
Photo by Tom Harris
Rank: 34 | Employees: 500 | Founded: 1995 | Cybersecurity
Rank: 34 | Employees: 500 | Founded: 1980 | E-commerce
Rank: 37 | Employees: 475 | Founded: 1992 | Trading
Rank: 38 | Employees: 450 | Founded: 1980 | Marketing
Rank: 38 | Employees: 450 | Founded: 1835 | Marketing
Rank: 38 | Employees: 450 | Founded: 2012 | Fintech
Rank: 41 | Employees: 425 | Founded: 1990 | Marketing
Rank: 42 | Employees: 400 | Founded: 2007 | Fintech
Rank: 43 | Employees: 392 | Founded: 2001 | HR
Rank: 44 | Employees: 387 | Founded: 2013 | E-commerce
Rank: 45 | Employees: 380 | Founded: 1978 | Software
Rank: 46 | Employees: 349 | Founded: 2010 | Social media
Rank: 47 | Employees: 320 | Founded: 1981 | Data analytics
Rank: 48 | Employees: 303 | Founded: 2001 | Software
Rank: 49 | Employees: 292 | Founded: 1982 | Fintech
Rank: 50 | Employees: 283 | Founded: 1998 | Cloud computing
Rank: 51 | Employees: 280 | Founded: 1996 | B2B
Rank: 52 | Employees: 275 | Founded: 1982 | Marketing
Rank: 53 | Employees: 252 | Founded: 1994 | Trading tech
Rank: 54 | Employees: 248 | Founded: 2008 | Consulting
Rank: 55 | Employees: 247 | Founded: 2001 | Marketing
Rank: 56 | Employees: 243 | Founded: 2001 | Marketing
Rank: 57 | Employees: 235 | Founded: 1994 | Software
Rank: 58 | Employees: 231 | Founded: 2004 | Marketing
Rank: 59 | Employees: 230 | Founded: 1996 | Healthcare
Rank: 60 | Employees: 225 | Founded: 1996 | Web
Rank: 61 | Employees: 220 | Founded: 2012 | Automotive
Rank: 61 | Employees: 220 | Founded: 1989 | Trading
Rank: 63 | Employees: 216 | Founded: 2000 | HR
Rank: 64 | Employees: 215 | Founded: 1993 | Software
Rank: 65 | Employees: 207 | Founded: 2011 | Automotive
Rank: 66 | Employees: 205 | Founded: 2002 | Trading
Rank: 66 | Employees: 205 | Founded: 1980 | Consulting
Rank: 68 | Employees: 200 | Founded: 1994 | E-commerce / cloud
Rank: 68 | Employees: 200 | Founded: 2005 | HR
Rank: 68 | Employees: 200 | Founded: 1973 | Consulting
Rank: 71 | Employees: 198 | Founded: 2007 | Consulting
Rank: 72 | Employees: 195 | Founded: 2008 | Consulting
Rank: 72 | Employees: 195 | Founded: 1995 | E-commerce
Rank: 74 | Employees: 194 | Founded: 1996 | Data analytics
Rank: 74 | Employees: 194 | Founded: 1997 | Trading
Rank: 76 | Employees: 189 | Founded: 1999 | Fintech
Rank: 77 | Employees: 185 | Founded: 2013 | Consumer
Rank: 78 | Employees: 180 | Founded: 2007 | HR
Rank: 78 | Employees: 180 | Founded: 2003 | Marketing
Rank: 78 | Employees: 180 | Founded: 2010 | Fintech
Rank: 81 | Employees: 178 | Founded: 1997 | Insurance
Rank: 82 | Employees: 175 | Founded: 1996 | Data analytics
Rank: 83 | Employees: 171 | Founded: 2011 | Marketing
Rank: 84 | Employees: 170 | Founded: 2011 | Automotive
Rank: 84 | Employees: 170 | Founded: 2015 | Software
Rank: 84 | Employees: 170 | Founded: 1768 | Web
Rank: 87 | Employees: 166 | Founded: 1993 | E-commerce
Rank: 88 | Employees: 165 | Founded: 2003 | Marketing
Rank: 89 | Employees: 161 | Founded: 1995 | Data analytics
Rank: 90 | Employees: 160 | Founded: 2005 | Contract management
Rank: 91 | Employees: 158 | Founded: 2006 | Consumer engagement
Rank: 92 | Employees: 150 | Founded: 1999 | Sales enablement
Rank: 92 | Employees: 150 | Founded: 2002 | Healthcare
Rank: 92 | Employees: 150 | Founded: 2010 | E-commerce
Rank: 95 | Employees: 148 | Founded: 2014 | Healthcare
Rank: 96 | Employees: 145 | Founded: 2006 | Automotive
Rank: 97 | Employees: 144 | Founded: 2011 | Trading
Rank: 98 | Employees: 141 | Founded: 2009 | Marketing
Rank: 98 | Employees: 141 | Founded: 2013 | E-commerce
Rank: 100 | Employees: 140 | Founded: 1998 | Marketing
Rank: 100 | Employees: 140 | Founded: 2008 | Recruiting
Rank: 100 | Employees: 140 | Founded: 1991 | Communication
*Correction: CareerBuilder's employee count has been updated to 1,201, up from 850, which was the company's initial submission. Echo Global Logistics' local employee count has been updated to 1,400, down from 2,200, which was the company's original submission and reflects its total employee count across locations.
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