Illinois ranks #7 among US states for total patents filed in 2016, with 15,070 patents from 8,132 inventors across 541 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 1.2 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Illinois 2016
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago, IL | 2,366 | 1,292 |
| #2 | Naperville, IL | 639 | 333 |
| #3 | Evanston, IL | 319 | 177 |
| #4 | Peoria, IL | 287 | 179 |
| #5 | Palatine, IL | 283 | 135 |
| #6 | Lake Forest, IL | 280 | 50 |
| #7 | Arlington Heights, IL | 271 | 131 |
| #8 | Libertyville, IL | 256 | 131 |
| #9 | Champaign, IL | 235 | 139 |
| #10 | Glenview, IL | 208 | 101 |
| #11 | Crystal Lake, IL | 186 | 94 |
| #12 | Aurora, IL | 181 | 118 |
| #13 | Barrington, IL | 178 | 80 |
| #14 | Vernon Hills, IL | 174 | 86 |
| #15 | Buffalo Grove, IL | 172 | 108 |
| #16 | Rockford, IL | 166 | 94 |
| #17 | Gurnee, IL | 162 | 91 |
| #18 | Urbana, IL | 160 | 104 |
| #19 | Grayslake, IL | 155 | 76 |
| #20 | Hoffman Estates, IL | 153 | 74 |
| #21 | Dunlap, IL | 150 | 85 |
| #22 | Schaumburg, IL | 148 | 84 |
| #23 | Northbrook, IL | 147 | 81 |
| #24 | Bloomington, IL | 141 | 47 |
| #25 | Woodridge, IL | 127 | 59 |