Illinois ranks #7 among US states for total patents filed in 2020, with 18,012 patents from 9,161 inventors across 565 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 1.4 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Illinois 2020
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago, IL | 3,374 | 1,823 |
| #2 | Bloomington, IL | 724 | 204 |
| #3 | Champaign, IL | 646 | 183 |
| #4 | Naperville, IL | 597 | 330 |
| #5 | Evanston, IL | 434 | 240 |
| #6 | Arlington Heights, IL | 298 | 139 |
| #7 | Peoria, IL | 291 | 181 |
| #8 | Urbana, IL | 288 | 151 |
| #9 | Palatine, IL | 283 | 123 |
| #10 | Normal, IL | 272 | 71 |
| #11 | Rockford, IL | 250 | 116 |
| #12 | Northbrook, IL | 218 | 83 |
| #13 | Schaumburg, IL | 213 | 115 |
| #14 | Libertyville, IL | 205 | 117 |
| #15 | Glenview, IL | 183 | 100 |
| #16 | Lake Forest, IL | 180 | 48 |
| #17 | Vernon Hills, IL | 177 | 99 |
| #18 | Des Plaines, IL | 169 | 88 |
| #19 | Buffalo Grove, IL | 166 | 95 |
| #20 | Aurora, IL | 166 | 100 |
| #21 | Crystal Lake, IL | 165 | 86 |
| #22 | Dunlap, IL | 153 | 73 |
| #23 | Hoffman Estates, IL | 149 | 64 |
| #24 | Savoy, IL | 148 | 23 |
| #25 | Wheaton, IL | 144 | 77 |