The best small businesses in Chicago.

These pages follow the Chicagoland (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane counties) research set. The towns below are the ones recorded in that file, after obvious spelling duplicates were combined.

Towns covered: Addison, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Barrington, Batavia, Bensenville, Berwyn, Bolingbrook, Brookfield, Buffalo Grove, Carol Stream, Chicago, Clarendon Hills, Crestwood, Crystal Lake, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, East Dundee, Elburn, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Evanston, Frankfort, Franklin Park, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Glencoe, Glenview, Hanover Park, Highland Park, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Itasca, Joliet, Kildeer, La Grange, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lake Villa, Lemont, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Lisle, Lockport, Lombard, Melrose Park, Monee, Montgomery, Morris, Morton Grove, Mt. Prospect, Naperville, New Lenox, Niles, North Aurora, Northbrook, Northfield, Oak Brook, Oak Forest, Oak Park, Oakbrook Terrace, Orland Park, Oswego, Palatine, Palos Hills, Park Ridge, Plainfield, Prospect Heights, Riverside, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Skokie, South Barrington, St Charles, Vernon Hills, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton, Wheeling, Willowbrook, Wilmette, Winfield, Winnetka, Woodridge, Worth, Yorkville.

Order on each live list is the research file's source count, then the strength of the recognitions that were actually recorded, then the research notes' suggested order. A source count of zero stays alphabetical under Also serving the area. There is no featured placement and no composite score.

Updated Oct 2026.