The 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon put nearly $756 million ($755.9 million) into the Chicago Metropolitan Area economy, according to the organizers' release. With the 48th race set for Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, starting and ending in Grant Park (CBS Chicago), that is the latest hard number for what the race is worth to its host city.
The 2025 Chicago Marathon put nearly $756 million into the local economy
The figure comes from an independent study by Jones & Associates Economics, cited in a release from Bank of America, the race's title sponsor. The study was commissioned by the organizers and sponsor, so the numbers are best read as the event's own accounting, even though an outside firm produced them.
"Economic impact" is an estimate of spending and its ripple effects across the local economy. It is not revenue earned by the race, and it is not profit for the organizers.
We found no official 2026 estimate. Coverage ahead of this year's race, including the Chicago Sun-Times on Oct. 7, relies on the 2025 numbers.
Visitors, not runners' entry fees, drive the number
More than 75% of participants traveled from outside Illinois. The release names visitor spending on hotels, food and entertainment as a primary driver of the impact.
The race welcomed 55,744 participants and visitors to the Chicago area, up 4% from 2024. The Sun-Times describes the same 55,744 figure as participants. The study also credits the event with supporting 5,186 full-time-equivalent jobs, up 7.4% from the previous year. Full-time equivalent means total hours worked, converted into the number of full-time positions they would add up to.
International visitors matter more than their headcount suggests. A Choose Chicago spokesperson told the Sun-Times: "This is hugely beneficial for our local tourism and hospitality industry as overseas tourists tend to stay twice as long and spend twice as much as domestic visitors." The Sun-Times says 35% of 2024 participants were international.
The paper also notes the marathon helps Downtown Chicago, which has not fully recovered from the pandemic.
The growth rate does not add up neatly, so check the base year
The release says the 2025 impact is a 7.5% increase over 2024, which generated $683 million. The arithmetic does not match. $755.9 million against $683 million is a rise of about 10.7% (Hopone calculation).
The release does not explain the gap. The 7.5% is the organizers' figure, and the 2024 base may have been revised since it was first published. We cannot confirm which.
For earlier context, the organizers' 2024 release said tourism saw more than $177 million in economic activity as a direct result of that year's race. A broadcast-partner summary of the same release put the 2024 impact at a 22% increase over 2023.
The charity side grew too. The official charity program raised a record $47.1 million. Counting indirect impact beyond that program, the race's charitable impact was over $136 million, up 27%.
Bank of America is incredibly proud of the positive and lasting impact the marathon has on Chicago, including a more than three-quarter-billion dollar impact on our city's economy.
Rita Cook, President of Bank of America Chicago
What 2025 does and does not tell us about the 2026 race
Organizers expect more than 55,000 participants in 2026 and say they expect it to be the largest field ever (Sun-Times). That is close to the 55,744 counted in 2025, and the two counts may not be defined the same way, since the 2025 figure covers participants and visitors.
Any 2026 dollar figure would therefore be an extrapolation from 2025. A real estimate would come from a study done after the race.
| Metric | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Economic impact | $755.9 million |
| 2024 impact | $683 million |
| Growth vs. 2024 (as reported) | 7.5% |
| Participants and visitors | 55,744 |
| Full-time-equivalent jobs | 5,186 |
| Participants from outside Illinois | More than 75% |
| Charity, official program | $47.1 million |
| Charity, including indirect impact | Over $136 million |
For how other cities value their races, see what a marathon is worth to its city, from Utah to Hanoi to Berlin. On the demand side, Grandma's Marathon sold out in 174 minutes. The cost side is visible in Dublin Marathon's 18% entry fee rise.
Sources
- Bank of America Newsroom: 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Pumps Record $756 Million into Chicago Economy
- Bank of America Chicago Marathon: Press Releases
- CBS News Chicago: Bank of America Chicago Marathon had record economic impact on city in 2025, organizers say
- NBC Chicago: 2025 Chicago Marathon broke record for economic impact, study finds
- Chicago Sun-Times: The Chicago Marathon is this weekend. Here's why it's distinctive and attracts runners
- Bank of America Newsroom: Inspiring Stories from the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
This article was written with AI by the Hopone Newsroom, from the sources it cites. Figures marked “Hopone calculation” are our own arithmetic from those sources. Nothing here is investment advice.