Market Overview

“Chicago is the major metropolitan center for the heart of the United States”

Chicago has been called a lot of things over the years. Carl Sandburg called it the “city of big shoulders,” a tribute to the steelworkers and meat packers of earlier days. Today, Chicago is the major metropolitan center for the heart of the United States. It’s looked at for its culture, sports, fashion, commerce and entertainment venues.

The city’s cultural background can be best experienced by visiting the world famous Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Chicago Historical Society, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Adler Planetarium. By taking a stroll through the downtown area one can admire the more than 200 public sculptures by artists including Picasso, Miro and Chagall.

Chicago Style: The adjective seems to attach itself to everything from pizza, hot dogs and blues to architecture and politics. No matter what the subject, no matter what the situation, Chicagoans seem to do things with their own distinct flair, creating innovations and developing trends that extend far beyond the borders of this great city. From Lake Michigan to the architectural award winning Chicago Tribune building, the Sears Tower to Wrigley Field, many of Chicago’s attractions are viewed by more than 15 million people each year.

Via Midway or O’Hare International (one of the world’s busiest airports), Chicago continues to be a popular destination for many international travelers. The newly expanded McCormick Place and Navy Pier are making Chicago one of the nation’s largest conventional cities. This large and diverse city is many things at once - a blue-collar town that’s full of high culture and gracious living, while also a classic Midwestern city with international presence.

Chicago is a pleasant place to live, vacation or do business, but it’s also a large metropolis with an array of neighborhoods, each nurturing a different immigrant heritage. Stop at a Swedish bakery, a Chinese restaurant or Indian grocery store, and you’ll begin to understand why Chicagoans love their flat, windy, boisterous city. Chicago is the melting pot of the Midwest.

As you drive through Chicago, you will see the Clear Channel Outdoor advantage with overhead bulletins that the traffic drives directly under, spectacular walls that dominate the horizon, and thousands of Posters and Junior Posters blanketing every major thoroughfare. Clear Channel Outdoor operates the largest Poster and Junior Poster plants in Chicago, as well as excellent commuter rail coverage with our METRA advertising. All options offer excellent general market coverage as well as ethnic targeting. Clear Channel Outdoor is Chicago’s number one choice for out-of-home advertising.

Market Demographics

Demographics
Neilson TV Households Rank	3
Adults Age 18+ Rank	3
Population of Adults 18+	7,156,664
Total Population	9,709,980
% Population Change from 1990 to 2009	16
Average Age	36.1
Average Household Income	79,209
Average Number of Vehicles per Household	1.7
Population Density (People per Sq/Mile)	1027
Race Distribution (%)
White	63
African American	17
Asian	5
American Indian	0
Hawaiian	0
Multi-Race	4
Other	10
Ethnicity (%)
Hispanic	20
Research Profiles (%)
Traveled 500 or more total miles in a month	31.2
Household plans to buy any new vehicle next year	11.3
Have visited a casino last year	28.7
Plan to switch wireless/cellular carrier next year	9.2
Personally attended/visited a live theater last year	29.6
Participated in golf last year	13.4
Bought any items on the internet last year	55.4
Usually see a new movie opening weekend in a year	11.9
Did not read any daily newspaper(s) yesterday	49.5
Accessed the internet last month	73.2
Drove alone to any place last week	86.8
Car pooled to any place last week	6.7
Spent 30 minutes or more traveling to work one way	25.4

Sources: 2009 Census Estimates; 2009 Scarborough