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Normal Township vs Bloomington

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: street grid (2.3× in Bloomington) and trails (2.6× in Bloomington).

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Normal Township, ILKnown for its schoolsMcLean County · 52,417 people
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Bloomington, ILA history townIllinois · 78,907 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 $410 more a month in Bloomington

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.

Normal Township$1,500/mo
Typical home $211K (Census) · tax rate 2.22% · or rent about $969/mo · Housing →
Bloomington$1,900/mo
Typical home $270K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.15% · or rent about $1,050/mo · Housing →

The difference: $410 a month, about $4,900 a year, between Bloomington 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.

Where they are

Normal Township and Bloomington share a border

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

Normal TownshipBloomingtonNormal TownshipBloomington
Normal Township ↔ Bloomington4.2 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
7,066 Normal Township residents work in Bloomington (35.1% of its workers)
Work & commute in Normal Township →
Report cards

Bloomington places higher on 13 of 19 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
Normal TownshipBloomington
Snow a year20″7″
January low16°F—
July high86°F—
Growing season (days)172d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)47th44th
Outdoors & history
Normal TownshipBloomington
Conserved land2.9%7.5%
Settled18651857
National Register places—19
Archive photos1824
Famous people born here4153
Community
Normal TownshipBloomington
Library hours a week62 hrs64 hrs
Colleges in town—1
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.

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.

Normal TownshipBloomington
People
Population 52,417Lowest 78,907Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -1.1%Lowest +2.7%Highest
Median age 25±0.7Lowest 36% below IL 36.2±0.8Highest 7% below IL
Kids under 18 15.4%±1.3Lowest IL: 21.8% 22.5%±1.1Highest IL: 21.8%
Age 65+ 12.2%±1Lowest IL: 17% 14.7%±0.8Highest IL: 17%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.3%Highest IL: 37.8% 48.7%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 33%±2.1Highest IL: 6.3% 8.4%±0.7Lowest IL: 6.3%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $63,708±$7kLowest 24% below IL $77,384±$4kHighest 7% below IL
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $210,800±$7kHighest 20% below IL $203,300±$7kLowest 23% below IL
Normal Township and Bloomington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $969±$49Lowest 24% below IL $1,050±$36Highest 18% below IL
Bloomington and Normal Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,686Highest 12% below IL $4,374Lowest 17% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 58.5%±6.3Highest IL: 47.9% 38.4%±4.1Lowest IL: 47.9%
Below poverty line 21.9%Highest IL: 11.8% 11%Lowest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 54.6%Lowest IL: 67.1% 61.9%Highest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1988Highest 17 yrs newer than IL 1982Lowest 11 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 16 minLowest 41% below IL 17 minHighest 40% below IL
Work from home 13.1%±1.6Lowest IL: 15.9% 20.7%±1.6Highest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 20.4%Lowest 46%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.3 miHighest 3.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.99Lowest 1.37Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Bloomington (35%)Normal (21%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 35% work in BloomingtonFew work in Normal Township
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 2.9%Lowest 7.5%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 10.7 miLowest 28.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 1.0 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 22Lowest 44Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 40.0Lowest 92.3Highest
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.

Normal Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Normal Township’s Town Square.

Bloomington neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bloomington’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Normal Township and Bloomington

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Normal Township

Towns like Normal Township

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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