Metro area · Illinois

Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area

Champaign-Urbana, IL is a metropolitan area of 3 counties in Illinois, home to 239,979 residents. Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area has a quality-of-life score of 72 out of 100 (high), ranking #262 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Illinois it ranks #6 of 28. It ranks best on public transit commuters (high), some college (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), child care cost burden (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

72High
Quality-of-life score
#262 of 925 metro and micro areas
Illinois
#6 of 28 in IL
Population
239,979 (2025)
Land area
1,921 mi²
Density
124.9 /mi²
CBSA code
16580

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety48#479/924
  • Economy41#544/925
  • Housing22#726/925
  • Health87#121/925
  • Healthcare83#154/923
  • Environment20#733/917
  • Education97#29/925
  • Infrastructure90#91/925
  • Community77#213/925
  • Leisure & amenities69#292/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

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.

Metro and micro areas like Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area 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.

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).

Income

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

Homes

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

Getting to work

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

Jobs and pay

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

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.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Champaign-Urbana, IL

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Champaign CountyCentral county59209,972
  2. Piatt CountyOutlying county8616,791
  3. Ford CountyOutlying county6313,216

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. ChampaignPrincipal city89,996
  2. UrbanaPrincipal city39,341

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Champaign89,996
  2. Urbana39,341
  3. Rantoul12,421
  4. Mahomet10,049
  5. Savoy8,968
  6. Monticello6,304
  7. Paxton4,131
  8. St. Joseph3,778
  9. Tolono3,566
  10. Gibson City3,434
  11. Lake of the Woods2,091
  12. Bement1,792
  13. Fisher1,605
  14. Philo1,487
  15. Cerro Gordo1,349
  16. Homer1,245
  17. Atwood1,144
  18. Sidney936
  19. Thomasboro918
  20. Mansfield866
  21. Gifford822
  22. Ogden754
  23. Piper City703
  24. Hammond617

Other metro and micro areas in Illinois

Areas based in Illinois, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

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