City · McLean County, Illinois

Bloomington, Illinois

Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, part of the Bloomington, IL metro area. It has 78,907 residents. Bloomington, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 78 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,366 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #96 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), distance to an airport (high) and child care cost burden (high).

78High

Quality-of-life score: #3,366 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #96 of 697 in IL
Population: 78,907 (2020-2024)
Land area: 27 mi²
Density: 2,910.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1706613

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety59#6,476/15,637
Economy54#7,136/15,631
Housing93#976/14,977
Health80#3,135/15,609
Healthcare65#5,476/15,650
Environment17#12,896/15,453
Education74#4,073/15,649
Infrastructure78#3,392/15,650
Community74#4,056/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,305/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bloomington, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “McLean County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mammography screening · high61.0%
99/100Illinois 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
98/100Illinois 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMcLean County value
Rent-burdened households · low38.4%
96/100Illinois 47.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Average commute time · low16.8 min
96/100Illinois 27.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low24.9%
95/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Flu vaccinations · high55.0%
93/100Illinois 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.07%
6/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Distance to an airport · high109 mi
8/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMcLean County value
Child care cost burden · high40.2%
8/100Illinois 30.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLean County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Illinois 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMcLean County value
New business applications · low9.1 /1k
16/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMcLean County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.468
18/100Illinois 0.481United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
2.0 /1k (2021) → 6.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+231%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.4% (2015-2019) → 90.9% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$67,507 (2015-2019) → $77,384 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
12.6% (2015-2019) → 11.0% (2020-2024)
−1.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.6% (2015-2019) → 24.9% (2020-2024)
+1.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
4.7% (2015-2019) → 6.0% (2020-2024)
+1.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Bloomington, Illinois improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Inequality−0.0250.493 → 0.468
Broadband+7.5 points83.4% → 90.9%
Household income+15%$67,507 → $77,384

Declined2

Uninsured+1.2 points4.7% → 6.0%
Transit use−0.6 points1.2% → 0.6%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Bloomington, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.8 min2015-2019	16.8 min2020-2024	+1.0 min	Within the margin of error	36%
Bachelor's degree or higher	48.2%2015-2019	48.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	83.4%2015-2019	90.9%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Improved	46%
Child poverty rate	11.3%2015-2019	10.9%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	2.35%2015-2019	2.07%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	72%
High school diploma or higher	95.3%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4932015-2019	0.4682020-2024	−0.025	Improved	71%
Median household income	$67,5072015-2019	$77,3842020-2024	+15%	Improved	23%
Poverty rate	12.6%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Public transit commuters	1.2%2015-2019	0.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Declined	20%
Rent as share of income	23.6%2015-2019	24.9%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent-burdened households	37.4%2015-2019	38.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Unemployment rate	3.5%2015-2019	2.7%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.7%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Declined	32%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Bloomington, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bloomington, Illinois in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Bloomington, Illinois itself moved −2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

78,907 residents (±87)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

34,892 households (±646)

Bloomington, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k16%5,689
$25k–50k17%5,832
$50k–75k15%5,330

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

34,892 households (±646)

Bloomington, Illinois
Illinois share

Own62%21,610
Rent38%13,282

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

40,354 workers (±813)

Bloomington, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone67%27,032
Carpool8.0%3,237
Public transit0.6%†237

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Bloomington, IL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of McLean County, the county holding most of Bloomington's residents.

McLean County has 3,481 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Illinois's), with 75,617 paid employees at an average annual pay of $72,957. The Census Bureau also counts 10,895 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,481; 10,895 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 75,617
Average annual pay: $72,957; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of McLean County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	288	16.8	0.92×About typical	6,739	$21,040	37
Ambulatory health care services	259	15.2	0.73×Fewer than typical	3,914	$76,258	414
Specialty trade contractors	199	11.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,719	$68,267	574
Limited-service restaurants	143	8.4	1.04×About typical	3,438	$19,864	17
Religious organizations	126	7.4	1.33×More than typical	891	$26,246	—
Lessors of real estate	119	7	0.57×Fewer than typical	576	$41,891	1,104
Full-service restaurants	115	6.7	0.88×About typical	2,742	$23,395	11
Services to buildings and dwellings	110	6.4	0.95×About typical	1,811	$31,874	539
Offices of other health practitioners	87	5.1	0.84×About typical	651	$51,988	237
Construction of buildings	85	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	383	$64,809	256
Automotive repair and maintenance	84	4.9	0.98×About typical	822	$85,925	86
Building equipment contractors	81	4.7	0.79×Fewer than typical	962	$71,830	90

Rank places for an industry Open McLean County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 170,931 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $111.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bloomington, Illinois: $1.42 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $111.7K; −89% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.42; US $1,994
Sole-source: 39%; US 30%
Single offer: 33%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$130.9K100%
USTRANSCOM$94.2K84%
Internal Revenue Service$75.1K67%
Federal Aviation Administration$25.1K22%
Commodity Futures Trading Commission$7,9627.1%

Top recipients

VIKING BROS LLC$102.5K92%
ALLEGIANT AIR LLC$63.5K57%
SIERRA PACIFIC AIRLINES, INC$30.7K28%
ADA S. MCKINLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.$25.1K22%
QUICKSILVER MAILING SERVICES, LLC$22K20%

Spending by fiscal year

1.6MFY2017
410.5KFY2018
2.1MFY2019
2.3MFY2020
1.4MFY2021
1MFY2022
1.2MFY2023
293.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$146.5K100%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$94.2K84%
Business support services · 5614$22K20%
Software publishers · 5132$21.3K19%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$13.7K12%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Bloomington, Illinois

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR OJS$364.4K
CHESTNUT HEALTH SYSTEMS INC· McLean County, IL· Professional services· May 23, 2025 – Apr 1, 2026· 140A1625F0069
SERVICE TO PROVIDE ALL ITEMS FOR SERVICES NECESSARY FOR GROUND MAINTENANCE SERVICES AT IL177 (MULTI SITES) IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PWS. THE POP IS 1 SEPT 2025 TO 31 MARCH 2026 WITH FOUR (4) 12-MONTH OPT PERIODS AND A 6 MONTH OPT TO EXTEND SERVICES.$173.4K
VIKING BROS LLC· McLean County, IL· Facilities & utilities· Aug 27, 2025 – Mar 11, 2026· W911SA25PA196
JANITORIAL SERVICES FOR THE FAA CHICAGO DISTRICT'S BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER$109.7K
ADA S. MCKINLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC.· McLean County, IL· Facilities & utilities· Sep 22, 2023 – May 15, 2026· 697DCK23C00409

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Bloomington, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Bloomington, Illinois's figures are part of those of McLean County, IL ($2M in FY2026), never added to them: 5.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bloomington is mostly in McLean County.

See federal money in McLean County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Bloomington, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

McLean County82100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Bloomington, IL90

Other cities and towns in McLean County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1706613

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends