The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail).
Quincy/Wells station saw the largest increase in ridership with a 48.8 percent rise.
Rail and bus traffic took a serious hit during the pandemic. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago's suburbs, saw a 97% decrease in ridership according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago's public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.
While ridership hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, CTA's president Dorval R. Cart Jr. said weekday ridership has doubled since the initial shutdown and continues to increase.
| Rank | Station | Ridership increase from 2021 to 2022 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quincy/Wells | 48.8 |
| 2 | LaSalle/Van Buren | 42.8 |
| 3 | Washington/Wells | 40.3 |
| 4 | Ashland (Green Line - Lake Street) | 37.7 |
| 5 | Clinton (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 35.9 |
| 6 | Chicago (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 35.1 |
| 7 | Montrose (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 34 |
| 8 | Halsted (Orange Line) | 32.3 |
| 9 | Merchandise Mart | 31.5 |
| 9 | Adams/Wabash | 31.5 |
| 11 | Monroe (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 31.1 |
| 12 | Morgan | 29.4 |
| 13 | Clinton (Green Line - Lake Street) | 28.1 |
| 14 | State/Lake | 27.6 |
| 15 | Paulina | 26.1 |
| 16 | Jackson (Blue Line - Dearborn Subway) | 25.9 |
| 17 | Kildare | 25.1 |
| 18 | Rockwell | 24.9 |
| 19 | Chicago (Brown Line) | 24.4 |
| 20 | Medical Center | 23.6 |
| 21 | Clark/Lake | 22.8 |
| 22 | Southport | 22.6 |
| 23 | Kedzie-Homan | 22.5 |
| 23 | California (Green Line - Lake Street) | 22.5 |
| 25 | Logan Square | 22.4 |
| 26 | Western (Orange Line) | 22 |
| 26 | Sedgwick | 22 |
| 28 | Western (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 20.9 |
| 29 | Western (Brown Line) | 20.6 |
| 29 | Harold Washington Library | 20.6 |
| 31 | Diversey | 20.1 |
| 32 | Washington | 19.8 |
| 33 | Cumberland | 19.7 |
| 34 | Irving Park (Brown Line) | 19.6 |
| 35 | Washington/Wabash | 19.5 |
| 36 | Rosemont | 18.8 |
| 37 | Grand (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 18.7 |
| 37 | Cermak | 18.7 |
| 39 | LaSalle | 18 |
| 39 | Midway Airport | 18 |
| 39 | Wellington | 18 |
| 39 | Armitage | 18 |
| 43 | Jarvis | 17 |
| 43 | O'Hare Airport | 17 |
| 43 | Belmont (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 17 |
| 43 | California (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 17 |
| 43 | Addison (Brown Line) | 17 |
| 43 | Jefferson Park | 17 |
| 43 | UIC-Halsted | 17 |
| 43 | Ridgeland | 17 |
| 51 | Montrose (Brown Line) | 16.1 |
| 52 | Francisco | 15.8 |
| 53 | Pulaski (Pink Line) | 15.3 |
| 54 | Kedzie (Pink Line) | 15.2 |
| 54 | Ashland (Orange Line) | 15.2 |
| 56 | 51st | 14.6 |
| 56 | 35th/Archer | 14.6 |
| 58 | Western (Pink Line) | 14.5 |
| 59 | Monroe (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 14.4 |
| 59 | 54th/Cermak | 14.4 |
| 61 | Kimball | 13.8 |
| 62 | Oak Park (Green Line - Lake Street) | 13.6 |
| 63 | Kedzie (Orange Line) | 13.5 |
| 64 | Oakton | 13.3 |
| 65 | Austin (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 12.9 |
| 66 | Damen (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 12.8 |
| 67 | South Boulevard | 12.7 |
| 67 | 47th (Green Line - South Elevated) | 12.7 |
| 69 | Garfield (Green Line - South Elevated) | 12.4 |
| 69 | Damen (Brown Line) | 12.4 |
| 71 | Granville | 12.3 |
| 72 | 95/Dan Ryan | 12.1 |
| 72 | Linden | 12.1 |
| 74 | Kostner | 12 |
| 74 | 43rd | 12 |
| 76 | Cermak-Chinatown | 11.4 |
| 77 | Oak Park (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 11.1 |
| 78 | Austin (Green Line - Lake Street) | 11 |
| 78 | Pulaski (Orange Line) | 11 |
| 78 | Argyle | 11 |
| 78 | Harlem (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 11 |
| 78 | Division | 11 |
| 83 | Kedzie (Brown Line) | 10.4 |
| 84 | Lake | 10.1 |
| 85 | Addison (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 10 |
| 85 | Laramie | 10 |
| 85 | 18th | 10 |
| 85 | Central (Green Line - Lake Street) | 10 |
| 89 | Wilson | 9.3 |
| 90 | Howard | 8.9 |
| 91 | Fullerton | 8.7 |
| 92 | Sheridan | 8.6 |
| 92 | Dempster | 8.6 |
| 94 | Dempster-Skokie | 8.4 |
| 95 | Jackson (Red Line - State Street Subway) | 8.3 |
| 96 | Addison (Red Line - North Side) | 8 |
| 96 | North/Clybourn | 8 |
| 96 | Central Park | 8 |
| 99 | Thorndale | 7.1 |
| 99 | Cicero (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 7.1 |
| 101 | Bryn Mawr | 7 |
| 101 | Irving Park (Blue Line - O'Hare) | 7 |
| 101 | Central (Purple Line - Evanston) | 7 |
| 101 | California (Pink Line) | 7 |
| 105 | Roosevelt | 6.3 |
| 105 | Polk | 6.3 |
| 105 | Cicero (Pink Line) | 6.3 |
| 108 | Chicago (Red Line - North Side) | 5.8 |
| 109 | Western (Blue Line - Forest Park) | 5.7 |
| 110 | Damen (Pink Line) | 5.4 |
| 111 | Harlem (Green Line - Lake Street) | 4.6 |
| 112 | Morse | 4.5 |
| 113 | Conservatory | 4.4 |
| 114 | Garfield (Red Line - Dan Ryan) | 3.8 |
| 115 | Belmont (Red Line - North Side) | 3.4 |
| 115 | 87th | 3.4 |
| 117 | Grand (Red Line - North Side) | 3 |
| 117 | Racine | 3 |
| 119 | Kedzie (Green Line - Lake Street) | 2.1 |
| 120 | Halsted (Green Line - Ashland/63rd Branch) | 1.8 |
| 121 | 79th | 1.7 |
| 122 | Loyola | 1.4 |
| 123 | Forest Park | 1.2 |
| 123 | Cicero (Green Line - Lake Street) | 1.2 |
| 125 | 47th (Red Line - Dan Ryan) | 1 |
| 125 | Foster | 1 |
| 125 | Noyes | 1 |

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