Bloomington, Illinois at a Glance
One of the Midwest’s second best-known pair of siblings, Bloomington, Illinois, is the big-insurance brother to its NCAA-sister, Normal, and together, they form Illinois’ “twin cities.” Bloomington is the headquarters of State Farm, the home of the ECHL Bisons and the base of Illinois Wesleyan University — the #1 regional college in the Midwest — while Normal is best-known for Illinois State University (ISU) — go Redbirds! With roughly 170,000 residents between them, this central-most section of central Illinois is both a fun college town and an important economic engine for the state.
Bloomington-Normal is still a manufacturing powerhouse, home to both Rivian — the world’s finest EV-pickup maker — and Ferrero USA — the maker of some of the world’s finest pick-me-ups, like Butterfinger and Baby-Ruth. But career opportunities in the Bloomington-Normal region aren’t restricted to chocolatiering and auto-making. These twin cities are also a finance hub, a major trade and transportation center, and the home base of the IAA — the Illinois Foundation of the Illinois Farm Bureau.
Chicago may cast a long shadow across the state of Illinois, but Bloomington still literally stands taller — it’s got one of the highest elevations in the Land of Lincoln. Now, that’s not saying a lot considering it’s one of the flattest states in the union, but you take your bragging rights where you find them if you’re David fighting the Chi-town Goliath. When you want to visit the big city, it’s just 2.5 hours north, and St. Louis lies roughly the same distance away to the south. Easy access to the cultural resources of these major metros doesn’t diminish Bloomington’s hometown offerings, though, like the McLean County Museum of History, the Castle Theatre, the David Davis Mansion and glorious green spaces like Comlara Park.
If you’re looking for an approachable Midwestern city with a reasonable cost of living and lots of college-town charm, Bloomington, Illinois, may be the place for you. Learn more about Bloomington-Normal in our moving guide below, where we’ll discuss housing costs, the job market, the weather and our favorite things to do in the city.
Bloomington’s Climate: Four Seasons of Beauty
Bloomington is one of the rare cities in the U.S. that is still holding onto four true seasons of wonder. Well, okay, it’s not always wondrous when it hits 95 F with 95% humidity in the summer, or when the mercury drops below zero in the winter, but outside those extremes, Bloomington’s weather has something for everyone to enjoy in every season.
The average temperature in Bloomington-Normal is 62 F and the area receives around 40 inches of rain throughout the year. The summer months are the wettest, when late spring storms in May begin to pour an average of 4 inches a month over the opening blossoms of Bloomington. Although these storms are often accompanied by high winds, dramatic lightning and, occasionally, tornadoes, the cooling effect from them is a relief from hot and humid days. Summertime highs average in the mid-80s F, and evening lows usually drop into the low 60s F, but climate change is making the hottest days even hotter. While it’s still rare to see a daily max in the triple digits, highs in the 90s are becoming the new Normal. We mean normal.
Winter can bring the opposite kind of fun — extreme cold! While most days will see highs in the 30s and lows in the teens — it is not unheard of for temps to limbo lower than you think temperatures should go, not just into negative territory, but negative double digits. We don’t want you to even think about the wind chill factor on these rare days, but Jack London’s “To Build a Fire “or Stephen King’s “The Shining” might suddenly feel #relateable. You’ll occasionally have the abnormally warm day in winter, too, where groundhogs and humans alike will see no shadows and declare it spring. But do not believe it! It’s certainly snowed on Easter here before.
In between the coldest and hottest parts of the year, Bloomington is delightful. Springs are cool and mild, with stretches of sunny days interrupted by periodic moody-broody ones, a brightening gloom. Fall is much the same. September rides on the coattails of summer but is quick to shed the dog days’ heat and steam. By October, apple-picking — and better yet — apple-donut-ing will be all the rage. Eat ‘em while they’re hot!
Cost of Living in Bloomington: Affordable and Comfortable
As more families feel the squeeze from rising prices, particularly in the housing market, Bloomington offers some relief. The median home value in this college town has yet to break the $200,000 mark, and renters pay only $1,004, on average. While this falls somewhere in the middle of prices within central Illinois, it’s more than $100,000 below the U.S. average, which now tops $300,000. Prices in Chicago are even higher, but even they don’t approach the cost of living in popular suburbs, like Naperville, where the average homeowner pays more than $500,000 for a residence.
But Naperville residents also bring home twice as much as families in Bloomington and Chicago, where the median household income is roughly $75,000, just below the national average. So, how far does that go in Bloomington-Normal? Well, the MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates that two working adults with one child should budget $9,673 for food, $16,060 for childcare, $8,816 for medical expenses, $13,014 for housing, $14,477 for transportation, $6,077 for civic expenses, $1,966 for internet/mobile services, and $8,763 for miscellaneous expenses each year. To afford that, a couple in Bloomington-Normal would need to earn $92,009 before taxes — far more than the average household does.
See what the typical salaries are for a variety of common professions in Bloomington to understand what to expect if you’re thinking of moving to Bloomington.
Career Opportunities and Education in Bloomington
With more than 30 Fortune 500 companies, Illinois has one of the largest economies in the U.S., and one of these heavy hitters is headquartered in Bloomington. State Farm Insurance ranks in the top 50 on Fortune’s list, and it’s the largest employer in Bloomington-Normal. More than 14,000 area residents work for the company — three times as many as any other company in the region. COUNTRY Financial and Afni, Inc. also have significant rosters, and all have made financial activities the largest nonfarm, civilian sector in Bloomington, employing 19,300 workers.
With 16,700 individuals on its roster, the government employs the second-largest number of Bloomington-Normal residents, while trade, transportation & utilities supports 13,000 jobs.
Naturally, with ISU and Illinois Wesleyan University and Heartland Community College, education and health services play a vital role in this community, providing both economic stability and essential services that ensure the well-being of all area residents. If you have school-aged children, McLean County Unit School District 5 serves those in the Normal area and District 87 serves residents of Bloomington. See which schools serve your potential neighborhood here.
Though it had a rough year, manufacturing is one of central Illinois’ most critical industries, and Bloomington-Normal residents produce one of the commodities people around the globe most rely on: Chocolate. Ferrero USA, the company that gave the world the most giftable holiday chocolates and also produces the lower-brow but unbelievably buttery Butterfinger and the Euro-clever Kinder, opened their first North American processing facility in Bloomington in 2024. If you’ve always wanted E.L. Fudge as a neighbor, move to Bloomington! And say hello to the rest of those cookie-baking elves for us.
Living the Bloomington Lifestyle: Attractions, Recreation and Sports
Outdoor Activities
Because it doesn’t have 14,000-foot peaks or a roaring ocean, central Illinois doesn’t often get the outdoor accolades it deserves, but there are so many wonderful places to take in the scenery in and around Bloomington. Moraine View State Recreation Area was sculpted by glaciers millennia ago, and now this beautiful area has great trails for hiking, horseback-riding, biking and cross-country skiing, and the Black Locust Lake is open for swimming, boating and fishing.
Just a short drive north of the city will lead you to Comlara Park, where weekend camping trips around Evergreen Lake will make you feel miles from the chaos of regular life. You can take in more of the area if you set out on two wheels. Bike the Constitution Trail and you’ll have 37 miles of non-motorized pathways to explore around Bloomington-Normal.
Golfers will enjoy Bloomington’s three city golf courses, including Highland Park, which opened nearly 100 years ago, to the most recent addition, The Den at Fox Park, which is an Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course. And mini-linksmen can show off their skills at the Putting Zoo in Miller Park.
When you can’t sit still and you can’t decide on a particular activity, O’Neil Park is the place to be. There are fields and courts for every kind of sportsball here, and the new skate park has gotten top marks from the area’s fiercest shredders. You’ll likely spend a good deal of your summer at the O’Neil Aquatics Center, which has great slides and a lazy river, so you can just watch the kids go round and round while you finish off that juicy page-turner. In the winter, the kids can loop-de-loo the rink at the Bloomington Ice Center, and you can hide out in the stands with the entertainment of your choice. It’s venues like these that noise-canceling headphones were made for, right?
At the Downtown Farmers’ Market, you won’t just find the best local produce, meats and cheeses. Local artisans will also be hawking their wares, and you’ll be just as likely to find a pair of sterling steampunk arm cuffs as you are to happen upon squirrel-embroidered hankies, migraine-fighting herbal candles and hand-carved pet trophies. Who’s been a good boy?! Fuel up as you shop by grabbing snacks like the bulgogi mushroom buns from Bao Destination, a cheddar-bacon scone from Four30 and some goat milk fudge from Galassi Farms.
Cultural and Historical Attractions
With family-friendly spots like the Children’s Discovery Museum, historic sites like Sprague’s Super Service — one of the first filling stations on Route 66 — and art galleries and performing arts spaces like the Castle Theatre, Bloomington has a cultural adventure for everyone in your crew.
The McLean County Museum of History highlights the rich heritage of the area, but it also isn’t afraid to highlight the region’s missteps, either, so you’ll feel that you’ve gotten the county’s full story. One of our favorite things about this institution is its collection of unusual objects. With more than 18,000 historic thingamabobs in house, you’ll be hard-pressed to pick your favorite. Is it the donkey-headed whiskey bottle from Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign? The very mindful fashion illos from Margaret Thomas Davis? The cowboy boots from horsewoman Josephine Sanders Austin? We swoon hard over the ancient Apple IIe, which looks even beiger than the day it was born in 1980.
You’ll likely attend at least one wedding at the Ewing Manor, and while it is a truly lovely place to stroll with a glass of bubbly over nuptials, it is worth taking the official tour and getting all the historic deets on the Channel-Norman mansion and the couple who built it, particularly Hazel Buck Ewing, who was a woman truly ahead of her time.
You can’t really call yourself a resident of the Land of Lincoln if you haven’t adequately immersed yourself in the lore of the late president. The David Davis Mansion makes that easy. Better known as Clover Lawn, this ornate residence of one of Abe’s BFFs and political advisors gives you a peek at the upper-upper-crust of Midwestern life during the 19th century.
Kids who have not yet developed an affinity for house museums will dig the historic collection at the Prairie Aviation Museum. Here, the smaller set is encouraged to get hands-on with the collections, from pushing switches in the testing trailer for a B52 engine to climbing into the cockpit of a Lockheed T-33.
And then there’s the zoo. The Miller Park Zoological Society has hands-on — and some hands-off — fun of its own to offer. One of the newest residents is the impossibly cute wallaroo named Irwin, but we’re also very partial to Dot and Dash, the ruddy guanacos, and China, the red panda. Maybe we just have a soft spot for gingers? You’ll surely find your own fave when you visit.
Sports Scene
Bloomington is a big sports town, even if the pro scene is limited to ice hockey. The Bloomington Bison didn’t exactly have a banner year in the ECHL, but fans are optimistic that these buffalo of the ice will make the 2025-26 season a certifiable stampede.
College sports rule the roost for the rest of the year. ISU conferences with the Missouri Valley, so basketball, baseball and football fans will naturally spend a lot of their time in Bloomington’s twin city, Normal. This year, the Redbirds had strong showings in many competitions. Men’s basketball pulled off an unexpected win against Cleveland State to become the College Basketball Invitational Champions — a feat last performed at the dawn of the Internet Age. Redbirds golf also took home the top prize this year at the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The birds have typically fared well on the tennis courts, and this year the women are hoping to reclaim their 2022 MVC title.
Is Bloomington, Illinois, the Right Place for You to Move to?
With modest home prices, a diverse economic base and lots of family-friendly attractions, Bloomington, Illinois, could be a wonderful place for a fresh start. If you’re ready to make the move, let Mayflower — the nation’s most-trusted mover — get you there.
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