Illinois ranks #7 among US states for total patents filed in 2018, with 14,941 patents from 7,998 inventors across 532 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 2018
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago, IL | 2,688 | 1,413 |
| #2 | Naperville, IL | 564 | 328 |
| #3 | Bloomington, IL | 450 | 129 |
| #4 | Evanston, IL | 317 | 191 |
| #5 | Champaign, IL | 280 | 166 |
| #6 | Peoria, IL | 266 | 181 |
| #7 | Arlington Heights, IL | 230 | 130 |
| #8 | Palatine, IL | 227 | 105 |
| #9 | Libertyville, IL | 210 | 110 |
| #10 | Urbana, IL | 208 | 124 |
| #11 | Lake Forest, IL | 196 | 39 |
| #12 | Rockford, IL | 190 | 95 |
| #13 | Normal, IL | 183 | 49 |
| #14 | Vernon Hills, IL | 170 | 89 |
| #15 | Dunlap, IL | 164 | 91 |
| #16 | Buffalo Grove, IL | 153 | 89 |
| #17 | Aurora, IL | 150 | 94 |
| #18 | Glenview, IL | 145 | 83 |
| #19 | Northbrook, IL | 132 | 65 |
| #20 | Schaumburg, IL | 131 | 82 |
| #21 | Des Plaines, IL | 123 | 63 |
| #22 | Barrington, IL | 123 | 64 |
| #23 | Crystal Lake, IL | 123 | 64 |
| #24 | Lisle, IL | 121 | 44 |
| #25 | Gurnee, IL | 120 | 69 |