Chicago, IL · Caterers
Caterers in Chicago, by the numbers.
The Census Bureau counted 447 caterers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area in 2023, employing 5,932 people with $194.8 million in annual payroll.
The local market.
Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. Figures cover the whole metro area.
447
4th most of 322 US metro areas
5,932
13.3 per business, against 11.8 across all metros
$194.8 million
$32,841 per employee
66%
of businesses, against 69% across all metros
+1.8%
in the number of businesses (439 in 2022)
What the numbers say about Chicago.
- Chicago is one of the ten largest metro markets in the country for caterers, 4th of 322.
- A typical business here is about the national size, with 13.3 employees.
- The number of businesses held about steady since 2022.
How VERA helps caterers in Chicago.
The same product everywhere. It prepares the work and waits for your approval before anything goes out.
Per-person quotes in minutes
Menus, passed items, staff hours, rentals, and delivery priced from your own rates. The client accepts the quote from a link on their phone.
Deposits that hold the date
Set your deposit on the quote. VERA tracks what has been paid, what is processing, and what is still owed on every event.
Tastings on your calendar
A booking page that offers only the tasting times you actually have free. Each booking arrives as a request for you to confirm.
Questions
Caterers in Chicago
How many caterers are there in Chicago?
447 in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for 2023. Together they employed 5,932 people and paid $194.8 million in annual payroll.
Is the Chicago market for caterers growing?
By number of businesses it held about steady between 2022 and 2023: from 439 to 447 (+1.8%).
What does VERA do for caterers in Chicago?
VERA drafts the quotes, invoices, follow-ups and customer messages a Chicago business runs on, and waits for the owner's approval before anything goes out. It is the same software everywhere; this page adds the local numbers.
Caterers in other markets
Other Chicago markets
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022, metropolitan statistical areas. The Bureau adds a small amount of noise to these figures to protect individual businesses. The category counted is caterers, which can be broader or narrower than the trade itself. About the data.
See what VERA can do for your business.
Try it with the built-in demo data, no credit card, no API keys. VERA proposes the work and waits for your approval before it acts.