This is a preliminary version of a new open data asset and will be updated later this year once the Assessor's Office has finished reassessing commercial properties, then once annually. Use accordingly.
Commercial valuation data collected and maintained by the Cook County Assessor's Office, from 2021 to present. The office uses this data primarily for valuation and reporting. This dataset consolidates the individual Excel workbooks available on the
Assessor's website into a single shared format. Properties are valued using similar valuation methods within each modelgroup, per township, per year (in the year the township is reassessed). This dataset has been cleaned minimally, only enough to fit the source Excel workbooks together - because models are updated for each township in the year it is reassessed, users should expect inconsistencies within columns across time and townships.
When working with Parcel Index Numbers (PINs) make sure to zero-pad them to 14 digits. Some datasets may lose leading zeros for PINs when downloaded.
This data is property-level. Each 14-digit key PIN represents one commercial property. Commercial properties can and often do encompass multiple PINs. Additional notes:
- Current property class codes, their levels of assessment, and descriptions can be found on the Assessor's website. Note that class codes details can change across time.
- Data will be updated yearly, once the Assessor has finished mailing first pass values. If users need more up-to-date information they can access it through the Assessor's website.
- The Assessor's Office reassesses roughly one third of the county (a triad) each year. For commercial valuations, this means each year of data only contain the triad that was reassessed that year. Which triads and their constituent townships have been reassessed recently as well the year of their reassessment can be found in the Assessor's assessment calendar.
- Commercial properties are calculated by first determining a property’s use (office, retail, apartments, industrial, etc.), then the property is grouped with similar or like-kind property types. Next, income generated by the property such as rent or incidental income streams like parking or advertising signage is examined. Next, market-level vacancy based on location and property type is examined. In addition, new construction that has not yet been leased is also considered. Finally, expenses such as property taxes, insurance, repair and maintenance costs, property management fees, and service expenditures for professional services are examined. Once a snapshot of a property’s income statement is captured based on market data, a standard valuation metric called a “capitalization rate” to convert income to value is applied.
- This data was used to produce initial valuations mailed to property owners. It does not incorporate any subsequent changes to a property’s class, characteristics, valuation, or assessed value from appeals.
Township codes can be found
in the legend of this map.
