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.

Schools

B+Normal TownshipBetter than 66% of districts in the state DCunningham TownshipBetter than 12% of districts in the state

Health

B+Normal TownshipHealthier than 74% of U.S. towns B+Cunningham TownshipHealthier than 73% of U.S. towns

8Normal Township

12Cunningham Township

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Best schoolsSchools · 384 towns #104#332 Highest graduation rateSchools · 669 towns #237#585 Lowest depressionHealth · 861 towns #775#388 Most walkableOutdoors · 862 towns #506#120 Fastest growingGrowth · 859 towns #452#751 Most conserved landOutdoors · 838 towns #476#214 Most trailsOutdoors · 665 towns #366#184 Highest incomeIncome · 862 towns #632#831

Left end = #1 in Illinois. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Normal Township’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $150 more a month in Normal Township

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.

Down paymentRate%

Normal Township$1,500/mo

Typical home $211K (Census) · tax rate 2.22% · or rent about $969/mo · Housing →

Cunningham Township$1,340/mo

Typical home $185K (Census) · tax rate 2.43% · or rent about $972/mo · Housing →

The difference: $150 a month, about $1,800 a year, between Normal Township and Cunningham 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.

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 TownshipCunningham Township

Snow a year20″21″

January low16°F 18°F

July high86°F 85°F

Growing season (days)172d 190d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)47th 39th

Outdoors & history

Normal TownshipCunningham Township

Trails11 mi 9 mi

Conserved land2.9%7.5%

Settled1865 —

Archive photos18 —

Famous people born here41 —

Community

Normal TownshipCunningham Township

Library hours a week62 hrs 69 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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

51 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Normal TownshipMcLean County Cunningham TownshipChampaign County

Normal Township ↔ Cunningham Township51 miles apart

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.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

Normal TownshipCunningham Township

People

Population 52,417Highest 39,341Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -1.1%Highest -7.1%Lowest

Median age 25±0.7Lowest 36% below IL 26.1±1.2Highest 33% below IL

Cunningham Township and Normal Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 15.4%±1.3Highest IL: 21.8% 13.2%±1.7Lowest IL: 21.8%

Normal Township and Cunningham Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 12.2%±1Highest IL: 17% 11.5%±1.3Lowest IL: 17%

Normal Township and Cunningham Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.3%Lowest IL: 37.8% 56.7%Highest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 33%±2.1Lowest IL: 6.3% 35.6%±2.5Highest IL: 6.3%

Cunningham Township and Normal Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $63,708±$7kHighest 24% below IL $45,346±$5kLowest 46% below IL

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $210,800±$7kHighest 20% below IL $184,900±$10kLowest 30% below IL

Rentmedian gross, monthly $969±$49Lowest 24% below IL $972±$33Highest 24% below IL

Cunningham Township 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 $4,491Lowest 15% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 58.5%±6.3Highest IL: 47.9% 58.3%±4.5Lowest IL: 47.9%

Normal Township and Cunningham Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 21.9%Lowest IL: 11.8% 28%Highest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 54.6%Highest IL: 67.1% 37.3%Lowest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1988Highest 17 yrs newer than IL 1980Lowest 9 yrs newer than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 16 minHighest 41% below IL 14 minLowest 49% below IL

Work from home 13.1%±1.6Lowest IL: 15.9% 18.6%±2.6Highest IL: 15.9%

Work in townworking residents 20.4%Highest 20.1%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.3 miHighest 3.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.99Lowest 1.69Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Bloomington (35%)Champaign (38%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Cunningham TownshipFew work in Normal Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.9%Lowest 7.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 10.7 miHighest 8.5 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 0.7 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 22Lowest 25Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 40.0Lowest 94.6Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #104 of 384 in IL #332 of 384 in IL

School district ISU Laboratory Schools · DeWitt/Livingstn/Logan/McLean ROEUniversity of Ill Lab School · Champaign/Ford ROE

High school in town Normal Community West High SchoolUrbana High School

Students per teacherat that high school 15.1Highest 11.9Lowest

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.

Cunningham Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cunningham Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Normal Township and Cunningham Township

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

Bordering Normal Township

+ Compare

Bloomington78,907 people · $203K homes

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Bloomington City Township78,907 people · $203K homes

+ Compare

Normal53,569 people · $214K homes

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Dry Grove Township1,378 people · $262K homes

Towns like Normal Township

+ Compare

Champaign89,996 people · $211K homes

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Champaign City Township89,996 people · $211K homes

+ Compare

Urbana39,341 people · $185K homes

+ Compare

Edwardsville26,474 people · $300K homes

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.

Normal Township vs Cunningham Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Cunningham Township places higher on 12 of 21 IL lists

A typical home costs $150 more a month in Normal Township

What daily life feels like in each

51 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Normal Township and Cunningham Township

Bordering Normal Township

Towns like Normal Township

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