Food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois: 282 locations, +7.0% jobs
Official counts for food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Illinois compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Illinois against the country · 2026 Q1
| Illinois | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Food trucks and mobile food vendors with employees | 282 | 13,075 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 2.2 | 3.8 |
| Jobs | 769 | 42,986 |
| Jobs, year over year | +7.0% | +7.6% |
| Locations, year over year | +20.5% | +8.4% |
| Average weekly wage | $493 | $523 |
| Rank among states, density | 47 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 28 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Illinois has 282 food trucks and mobile food vendors with payroll, employing 769 people. At 2.2 per 100,000 residents the market is thinner than the country as a whole, number 47 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs grew +7.0% over the year, behind the national +7.6%. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois is $493 a week, 6% below the national figure of $523. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois moved +96.9%, from 131 to 258.
Food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois, annual average
- 2021131
- 2022160
- 2023195
- 2024224
- 2025258
Jobs at food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois
- 2021527
- 2022634
- 2023757
- 2024937
- 20251,083
What counts as "food trucks and mobile food vendors" here
Mobile food services: food trucks, carts and stands that prepare and serve food from a vehicle or non-permanent stand. Catering is counted separately. The code is NAICS 722330. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in Illinois
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the food trucks and mobile food vendors within reach of one address in Illinois, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many food trucks and mobile food vendors are there in Illinois?
BLS counted 282 food trucks and mobile food vendors with employees in Illinois in 2026 Q1, employing 769 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 2.2 per 100,000 residents, against 3.8 nationally.
Are food trucks and mobile food vendors growing in Illinois?
Yes. Jobs at food trucks and mobile food vendors in Illinois changed +7.0% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +20.5%. That ranks Illinois 28 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +96.9%.
Is Illinois a crowded market for food trucks and mobile food vendors?
Illinois has 2.2 food trucks and mobile food vendors per 100,000 residents, thinner than the country as a whole, ranking 47 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Food trucks and mobile food vendors in every state
Densest first. The number is food trucks and mobile food vendors per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in Illinois
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 722330, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in Illinois · Growth ranking for Illinois · Food trucks and mobile food vendors by state