California vs Illinois: contractor markets, side by side
California has 222,093 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; Illinois has 14,951 — about 15× more licensed contractors. Counts come from the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the IDFPR + Chicago Department of Buildings; market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| California | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 222,093 | 14,951 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 54.4 | 11.7 |
| Residents | 40,805,409 | 12,757,583 |
| Households | 14,984,242 | 5,427,336 |
| Median household income | $97,970 | $84,033 |
| Building permits (2025) | 103,856 | 18,551 |
| Top city by licenses | Los Angeles | Chicago |
California is the denser market: 54.4 active licenses per 10k residents against 11.7 in Illinois. Density cuts both ways — more contractors to sell to per square mile, and more competition per job for the contractors themselves.
Household income runs higher in California — $97,970 median against $84,033 in Illinois — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | California | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 29,015 | 2,567 |
| Plumbers | 18,070 | 943 |
| HVAC Contractors | 12,176 | — |
| General Contractors | 118,454 | 6,074 |
| Roofing Contractors | 5,678 | 4,404 |
| Solar Contractors | 1,217 | — |
| Landscape Contractors | 12,644 | — |
| Pool Contractors | 2,967 | — |
| Fire-Protection Contractors | 2,275 | — |
| Carpenters | 1,086 | — |
| Concrete Contractors | 5,674 | — |
| Masons | 2,149 | 963 |
| Drywall Contractors | 3,342 | — |
| Tile Contractors | 6,487 | — |
| Excavating Contractors | 2,516 | — |
| Painters | 16,279 | — |
| Flooring Contractors | 7,147 | — |
Counts are active licenses only, from each state's license board. A “—” means that board doesn't issue a statewide license for the trade, not that the trade doesn't exist there.