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Open territory

Junk removal franchisein Chicago, IL.

One VETS owner will run the entire Chicago metro. No carved-up sub-territories, no sister branch competing for the same jobs — residential hauling, dumpsters, and the commercial and multifamily work that comes with them.

Check Chicago availability See how the model works

Market snapshot

What the datasays.

Census figures for the Chicago metro, each set against the national figure from the same table. Every table and vintage is listed under Data sources.

3,643,7831

Households

vs. 129,227,496 nationally

34.5%2

Renter-occupied homes

vs. 34.8% nationally

10.9%3

Moved in the last year

vs. 12.3% nationally

62.7%4

Housing built before 1980

vs. 49.7% nationally

15,7785

New housing units permitted

4.3 per 1,000 households, vs. 11.0 nationally

282,9636

Veterans

3.9% of adults, vs. 6.2% nationally

What drives demandin Chicago.

Housing here skews old: 62.7% predates 1980 against a national 49.7%. Those 3,643,783 households renovate rather than rebuild, and renovation is the single most reliable generator of hauling work.

Chicago has 3,643,783 households across a population of 9,371,595. Junk removal demand tracks households more closely than anything else: people move, renovate, downsize and clear out, and every one of those is a job for someone with a truck and a crew.

Where these figures come from

Every number in these paragraphs is a Census figure for the Chicago metro, compared with the national figure from the same table.

See the data sources

Around Chicago

Nearbymarkets.

The open territories closest to Chicago, with straight-line distances. Every one is a separate metro with its own owner: if a neighbour is a better fit for where you live or want to work, its page has the same detail as this one.

Chicago, IL and the 3 closest open VETS territories Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI: about 83 miles Madison Madison, WI: about 123 miles Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN: about 140 miles
This territory Closest open territories Straight-line distances between city centres. Territory boundaries are defined in the FDD.
  1. Milwaukee, WI Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro 83 mi north
    • Open territory
    • Nearest VETS market: Nashville, TN · ~479 mi
    • 656,436 households (2020–2024 ACS 5-year)
    See the Milwaukee territory
  2. Madison, WI Madison, WI metro 123 mi northwest
    • Open territory
    • Nearest VETS market: Nashville, TN · ~497 mi
    • 301,580 households (2020–2024 ACS 5-year)
    See the Madison territory
  3. Fort Wayne, IN Fort Wayne, IN metro 140 mi east
    • Open territory
    • Nearest VETS market: Nashville, TN · ~354 mi
    • 182,145 households (2020–2024 ACS 5-year)
    See the Fort Wayne territory

What it coststo open here.

The same figures apply in every metro: the investment range is Item 7 of the Franchise Disclosure Document, and the capital requirement is what a candidate needs to have before the process starts. We publish no earnings information — our FDD has no Item 19.

$62,100–$178,420

Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

$40,000 (2026)

Candidate capital requirement

One

Owner per metro

Every line of the investment, explained

Your job,and ours.

One owner per metro means the local work is yours. Everything that works the same in every territory is ours.

Your job

Run the metro

Hire and lead the crews, be on the truck early, quote and close the jobs, keep the fleet moving, and build the local relationships — property managers, realtors, contractors — that turn one-off calls into scheduled work across Chicago.

Our job

Carry the rest

CentCom, the corporate support team, runs national accounts, receivables, the technology platform and training, and stays on the line after opening. Exactly what we are obliged to provide is Item 11 of the FDD; the support page describes it in plain terms.

What CentCom carries

Questions aboutChicago.

What people ask first about the Chicago territory. Anything not answered here, a person will answer directly.

Ask about Chicago

  • Is the Chicago territory available?

    Yes. As of September 2026, the Chicago territory is open and VETS is taking inquiries for it. Availability changes as candidates move through the process, so the honest answer on any given day comes from a person: request information and franchise development will confirm the current status before anything else.

  • What area does the Chicago territory cover?

    The territory is the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area as defined in the Franchise Disclosure Document, by the metro's boundaries in Item 12. One owner runs the whole metro: there are no carved-up sub-territories and no second VETS branch competing for the same jobs. Item 12 of the FDD is the document to check, and it is part of what you receive before any decision.

  • Do I have to be a veteran to own a VETS franchise?

    No. VETS was founded by a veteran and most owners have a service background, but the franchise is open to anyone who fits the profile: comfortable leading a crew, willing to be on the truck early, and able to run the numbers honestly. What is not negotiable is the capital requirement in the FDD and passing the same qualification process as every other candidate.

  • What happens after I ask about Chicago?

    You request information and a person replies, not an autoresponder. If it looks like a fit on both sides you receive the Franchise Disclosure Document, and by law you have at least fourteen calendar days with it before you can sign anything or pay anything. Discovery day, talking to existing owners and your own due diligence all happen inside that window or after it, never before it.

PENDING COUNSEL. State registration notice. The list of states, and the wording required in each, comes from counsel — never from this file's draft text.

Data sources

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 5-year estimates and the Building Permits Survey. Each national comparison uses the same table and vintage.

  1. ACS B11001 · 2020–2024
  2. ACS B25003 · 2020–2024
  3. ACS B07003 · 2020–2024
  4. ACS B25034 · 2020–2024
  5. Building Permits Survey · 2025 annual
  6. ACS B21001 · 2020–2024

Next step

Let us talkabout Chicago.

Tell us where you are looking. We will tell you straight whether the metro is open, what it would take, and whether we think it is a fit.

Check Chicago availability Browse open territories

Not ready to talk? Get the franchise guide first

A person replies, usually within a business day

Not an autoresponder sequence, and not a call centre reading from a script.

Fourteen days with the FDD, minimum

Federal law gives you at least that long before anything can be signed. We treat it as a floor, not a target.

We will tell you if it is not a fit

Both directions. We are deciding too, and we would rather say so early than waste a year of yours.

PENDING COUNSEL. This is not an offer to sell a franchise. An offer is made only by a Franchise Disclosure Document, and only in states where VETS is registered or exempt.