A city of 89,996, settled in 1855. Home to 27 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 3 things Champaign does most differently from other towns.
1869 · Bird's eye view of the city of Champaig…6 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 27 places on the National Register.
1909
Students in corn course, Illinois University
Photo · Library of Congress. A different picture from Champaign’s archive appears here every day.
See all 6 archive items →Be the first to start the conversation.
Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Champaign. Another town gets a different order.
45% of Champaign’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Urbana (15%), Chicago (4%) and Champaign (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.
The median sale price was $245,000 in May 2026.
5.1 miles of trails across 55 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Heritage Park | 0.8 mi | 42 |
| 2. Commissioners Park | 0.3 mi | 20 |
| 3. Washington Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Champaign beats the Illinois average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9.
| What stands out | Champaign | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.8% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 3.9% | 5.9% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 12.9% | 8% |
Champaign reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less.
Champaign has chilly winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 85°, a January night drops to 18°, and about 21 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities.
2 colleges in town.
27 places in Champaign on the National Register of Historic Places.
57 notable people were born in Champaign.
City in Illinois, United States
Champaign ( sham-PAYN) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents in 2020. Champaign shares the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of Urbana and is also home to Parkland College, which gives the city a large student population during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of technology startup companies, it is often referred to as a hub of the Illinois Silicon P…
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8 towns share a border with Champaign.
