Champaign, Illinois

Area Profile

89,996 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Champaign, in Champaign County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 30% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 4,199 cities measured60
Schools2,114th of 4,162 cities measured49
GrowthTop 3% of 4,224 cities measured82
Housing affordability2,410th of 4,218 cities measured64
Climate2,696th of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured68
Access3,438th of 4,226 cities measured78
Economic stability2,879th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $56,118, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 33% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.2 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,811 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 284% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
89,996
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,118
Bottom 33% nationally
Density
3,908/sq mi
23 sq mi of land
Median age
26.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Illinois
Nearest major airport
BMI
42 mi · Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal
Median home value
$210,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 44,161 employed residents.

53% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsChampaign County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,49515th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftChampaign County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$68,72541st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,5602024 ACS 5-Year$56,118Bottom 33%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7012024 ACS 5-Year$36,223Top 42%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%Bottom 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.5 minTop 8%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year52.7%Top 10%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year58.7%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202644,161Bottom 44%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Top 32%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202645,88844th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.7%Top 37%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageChampaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,290Top 50%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageChampaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,700Bottom 46%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%95th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.1%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.3%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.73.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202458k53k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,118 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Champaign-Urbana, IL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses3,520$90,230
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,890$31,300
Cashiers2,500$32,130
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary2,480$50,110
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners2,310$39,000
General and Operations Managers2,260$96,610

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

33% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 34% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.2 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.2
across 17 of them
Math proficiency
32.9%
Top 49% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
33.5%
Bottom 36% in Illinois
The 12 largest of 22 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central High SchoolChampaign CUSD 41,66613.241%42%
Centennial High SchoolChampaign CUSD 41,47613.536%37%
Jefferson Middle SchoolChampaign CUSD 471113.222%29%
International Prep AcademyChampaign CUSD 468113.427%27%
Franklin Middle SchoolChampaign CUSD 466512.326%29%
Edison Middle SchoolChampaign CUSD 464715.025%29%
Bottenfield Elem SchoolChampaign CUSD 445615.252%53%
Stratton Elementary SchoolChampaign CUSD 445414.625%20%
Robeson Elem SchoolChampaign CUSD 443916.925%31%
Westview Elem SchoolChampaign CUSD 443415.024%25%
Vernon L Barkstall Elementary SchChampaign CUSD 442613.345%33%
Dr Howard Elem SchoolChampaign CUSD 442613.742%37%

54.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Illinois’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area is up 48% over five years, and up 5.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,639 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.20% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,122, close to the $1,123 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,122 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $44,900 a year, about 80% of the median household income here of $56,118.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,123 a month.

A median home at $210,900 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $103,617, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.7

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,122
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,123
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$210,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Champaign’s median household income of $56,118, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure202390.7Top 8%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.4%82nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+47.5%69th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+74.6%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 34%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year43.8%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8702024 ACS 5-Year41,29999th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$946Top 18%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,436Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,122Top 15%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$302024 ACS 5-Year$1,123Bottom 37%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,8592024 ACS 5-Year$210,90056th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1722024 ACS 5-Year$4,63988th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,9342024 ACS 5-Year$103,617Top 24%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year2.20%95th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year34.9%Bottom 21%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1902024 ACS 5-Year58897th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%65th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%61st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6382024 ACS 5-Year4,48499th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

82/ 100
Top 3% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 91,961 in 2024.

96% of the 1,811 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Champaign County, which contains Champaign, lost about 1.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $54,495, below the $68,725 of households that moved out.

At 20.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,811
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
20.1
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+284%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
95.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202492k88k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
51%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,495
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$68,725
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cook County, IL 786 people · 11% of arrivals
  2. Vermilion County, IL 356 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  3. McLean County, IL 244 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  4. Ford County, IL 187 people · 2.6% of arrivals
  5. Douglas County, IL 163 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cook County, IL 1,047 people · 11% of departures
  2. Vermilion County, IL 422 people · 4.5% of departures
  3. Piatt County, IL 297 people · 3.2% of departures
  4. McLean County, IL 226 people · 2.4% of departures
  5. Douglas County, IL 211 people · 2.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Champaign County, IL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025897284
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−28%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.0 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CHAMPAIGN WILLARD AP, 5.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year602024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
60
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 46% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

DroughtModerate
TornadoElevated
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, strong wind, lightning, ice storm, hurricane, landslide, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
374
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,086
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Champaign's police department reported 374 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,086.

Champaign County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.0 per 100,000 residents in Champaign County.

Homicide
4.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Champaign’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Champaign (Champaign County) rather than Champaign itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal at 42 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year91.4%Top 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle42 miBottom 17%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-NormalBMI42 mi8,000 ft
Terre Haute RgnlHUF69 mi9,021 ft
Abraham Lincoln CapitalSPI77 mi8,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
64
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Other cities in Champaign-Urbana, IL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
UrbanaChampaign County39,34152Urbana vs Champaign
RantoulChampaign County12,42152Rantoul vs Champaign
MahometChampaign County10,04971Mahomet vs Champaign

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Champaign side by side with a similar place.

Champaign vs Horizon CityChampaign vs Knoxville

Moving to Champaign from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Champaign

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Champaign with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6182040,599$27,539$184,50061
6182128,611$70,715$181,80066
6182227,642$99,006$287,00071