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Compare towns

Champaign vs Normal Township

47 miles apart. The biggest differences: street grid (2.5× in Champaign) and work in town (+24.2 pts in Champaign).

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Champaign, ILA history townIllinois · 89,996 people
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Normal Township, ILKnown for its schoolsMcLean County · 52,417 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $200 more a month in Champaign

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Champaign$1,690/mo
Typical home $239K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.20% · or rent about $1,123/mo · Housing →
Normal Township$1,500/mo
Typical home $211K (Census) · tax rate 2.22% · or rent about $969/mo · Housing →

The difference: $200 a month, about $2,300 a year, between Champaign and Normal Township.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Champaign places higher on 11 of 20 IL lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Illinois ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
ChampaignNormal Township
Snow a year21″20″
January low18°F16°F
July high85°F86°F
Growing season (days)190d172d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)60th47th
Outdoors & history
ChampaignNormal Township
Trails5 mi11 mi
Conserved land5.4%2.9%
Settled18551865
National Register places27—
Archive photos618
Famous people born here5941
Community
ChampaignNormal Township
Library hours a week70 hrs62 hrs
Colleges in town2—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

47 miles apart

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Champaign ↔ Normal Township47 miles apart
Who commutes between them
247 Normal Township residents work in Champaign (1.2% of its workers)
Work & commute in Normal Township →
Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

ChampaignNormal Township
People
Population 89,996Highest 52,417Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.9%Highest -1.1%Lowest
Median age 26.6±0.9Highest 32% below IL 25±0.7Lowest 36% below IL
Kids under 18 15.9%±1.1Highest IL: 21.8% 15.4%±1.3Lowest IL: 21.8%
Champaign and Normal Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 10.9%±0.8Lowest IL: 17% 12.2%±1Highest IL: 17%
Normal Township and Champaign are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.7%Highest IL: 37.8% 52.3%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 30.1%±1.6Lowest IL: 6.3% 33%±2.1Highest IL: 6.3%
Normal Township and Champaign are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $56,118±$4kLowest 33% below IL $63,708±$7kHighest 24% below IL
Normal Township and Champaign are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $210,900±$8kHighest 20% below IL $210,800±$7kLowest 20% below IL
Champaign and Normal Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,123±$30Highest 12% below IL $969±$49Lowest 24% below IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,639Lowest 12% below IL $4,686Highest 12% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57%±3.6Lowest IL: 47.9% 58.5%±6.3Highest IL: 47.9%
Normal Township and Champaign are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 25.9%Highest IL: 11.8% 21.9%Lowest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 43.8%Lowest IL: 67.1% 54.6%Highest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1985Lowest 14 yrs newer than IL 1988Highest 17 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 15 minLowest 46% below IL 16 minHighest 41% below IL
Work from home 17.3%±1.6Highest IL: 15.9% 13.1%±1.6Lowest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 44.6%Highest 20.4%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.8 miLowest 4.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.54Highest 0.99Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Urbana (15%)Bloomington (35%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Normal Township1% work in Champaign
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 5.4%Highest 2.9%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 5.1 miLowest 10.7 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.3 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 55Highest 22Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 99.0Highest 40.0Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#104 of 384 in IL
School district —ISU Laboratory Schools · DeWitt/Livingstn/Logan/McLean ROE
High school in town —Normal Community West High School
Students per teacherat that high school — 15.1
Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Champaign neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Champaign’s Town Square.

Normal Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Normal Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Champaign

Towns like Champaign

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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