Illinois ranks #7 among US states for total patents filed in 2017, with 15,589 patents from 8,424 inventors across 544 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 2017
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago, IL | 2,846 | 1,478 |
| #2 | Naperville, IL | 633 | 335 |
| #3 | Evanston, IL | 330 | 204 |
| #4 | Peoria, IL | 320 | 212 |
| #5 | Libertyville, IL | 282 | 127 |
| #6 | Palatine, IL | 281 | 127 |
| #7 | Arlington Heights, IL | 235 | 130 |
| #8 | Champaign, IL | 231 | 142 |
| #9 | Lake Forest, IL | 219 | 53 |
| #10 | Glenview, IL | 200 | 91 |
| #11 | Aurora, IL | 187 | 113 |
| #12 | Rockford, IL | 181 | 103 |
| #13 | Urbana, IL | 173 | 100 |
| #14 | Buffalo Grove, IL | 171 | 92 |
| #15 | Vernon Hills, IL | 166 | 78 |
| #16 | Dunlap, IL | 163 | 89 |
| #17 | Crystal Lake, IL | 159 | 73 |
| #18 | Hoffman Estates, IL | 159 | 70 |
| #19 | Schaumburg, IL | 151 | 89 |
| #20 | Barrington, IL | 144 | 71 |
| #21 | Bloomington, IL | 143 | 65 |
| #22 | Gurnee, IL | 142 | 91 |
| #23 | Grayslake, IL | 138 | 80 |
| #24 | Wheaton, IL | 128 | 71 |
| #25 | Plainfield, IL | 127 | 76 |