Residential construction has been on the rise throughout the country in 2013, but what of here in Chicago?

October was a very good month for residential construction in Chicago. How good? Try this: according to the latest analysis by McGraw-Hill Construction, residential contracts in Chicago were up a whopping 81 percent year-over-year in October, which is among the strongest growths in the nation.

How does that growth, though, compare with the rest of the nation? And how has Chicago done throughout all of 2013? To find out, we consulted further data provided by McGraw-Hill, and put together the following graphs: