Chicago Market Analysis

April 8, 2021

The parking sector does not have a source of readily available, detailed market data. Therefore, we have been building our own databases and analysis to support our clients. Our team recently completed a market-wide analysis of almost every public parking facility in Downtown Chicago. Our team walked the market and surveyed rates at 268 parking facilities with a total of 105,617 spaces.

Facility & Space Metrics

Chicago’s Loop submarket contained the highest number of facilities (36%) and spaces (42%). River North is the second largest submarket in terms of facilities (19%); however, Streeterville was the second largest submarket in terms of spaces (19%).

Submarket # Facilities % Facilities by Submarket Space Counts % Spaces by Submarket
River North 51 19% 14,621 14%
Streeterville 46 17% 20,070 19%
Gold Coast 15 6% 1,813 2%
West Loop 39 15% 10,144 10%
Loop (Northwest Section) 18 7% 10,646 10%
Loop (Northeast Section) 24 9% 17,681 17%
Loop (South of Monroe, North of Congress) 22 8% 9,636 9%
Loop (South of Congress, North of Roosevelt) 32 12% 6,064 6%
South Loop 21 8% 14,942 14%
Totals 268 100% 105,617 100%
Loop Total 96 36% 44,027 42%

Monthly Parking Rates

The average unreserved parking rate in Downtown Chicago is $295. The highest rates are found in the submarket of the Loop south of Monroe, which contains many office buildings that have low onsite parking ratios. The South Loop’s average unreserved parking rate is 36% lower than the average Downtown Chicago parking rate due to its high supply of parking and limited demand drivers.

Submarket Unreserved Monthly Rate Reserved Monthly Rate
Loop (South of Monroe, North of Congress) $382.93 $509.63
Loop (Northwest Section) $361.69 $492.50
Gold Coast $324.77 $418.33
Streeterville $295.36 –
Loop (Northeast Section) $290.27 $463.00
West Loop $278.33 $391.25
River North $275.63 $401.00
Loop (South of Congress, North of Roosevelt) $261.77 $315.00
South Loop $187.78 –
Totals $295.25 $427.24

Hourly Parking Rates

Streeterville has the highest 8-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour parking rates. These rates are 20% to 30% higher than the average rates in Downtown Chicago. Surprisingly, the West Loop which has a limited parking supply has hourly parking rates below the average hourly parking rates. The South Loop has the lowest hourly parking rates.

Submarket 1 Hour Rate 8 Hour Rate 12 Hour Rate 24 Hour / Daily Max Rate
Streeterville $21.87 $37.81 $42.07 $46.58
River North $19.84 $33.62 $36.17 $43.48
Loop (Northwest Section) $22.67 $35.56 $36.06 $44.61
Gold Coast $17.29 $29.98 $36.02 $39.58
Loop (South of Monroe, North of Congress) $21.63 $34.91 $35.23 $39.14
Loop (Northeast Section) $19.30 $32.17 $32.82 $41.52
West Loop $14.38 $22.94 $24.28 $29.94
South Loop $14.56 $22.94 $24.28 $29.94
Loop (South of Congress, North of Roosevelt) $13.68 $19.79 $22.72 $30.86
Totals $18.36 $29.98 $32.28 $38.70

Operator Market Share

SP+ is the largest operator in Downtown Chicago by facilities managed and spaces managed. LAZ is the second largest parking operator by facilities managed (16.4%) but InterPark is the second largest by spaces managed (18.1%).

Operator Total Facilities Managed Total Facilities Managed % Total Spaces Managed Total Spaces Managed %
SP+ 81 30.2% 46,816 44.3%
LAZ 44 16.4% 11,684 11.1%
ABM 19 7.1% 9,620 9.1%
Interpark 35 13.1% 19,160 18.1%
Legacy 18 6.7% 7,506 7.1%
Impark 5 1.9% 1,498 1.4%
Other 66 24.6% 9,333 8.8%
Totals 268 100.0% 105,617 100.0%

Want to learn more?

If you would like to learn more or get access to more detailed data, please contact the Parking Advisors team.