Chicago became McDonald’s global headquarters in 2018 after the company left Oak Brook, Illinois.
McDonald’s had been headquartered in Oak Brook for decades, but the company announced a move to Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The new headquarters brought the corporation closer to a major urban business district and helped support a more contemporary image for the global brand.
The move was completed in 2018, and McDonald’s also established a nearby restaurant and training facility known as Hamburger University. The headquarters change was a corporate-branding milestone, even though it did not change the Golden Arches logo or the company’s name.
A common mistake is to describe Chicago as the company’s founding location. McDonald’s began in San Bernardino, California, while Chicago became its global headquarters much later.