Meet Champaign: Central Illinois’ Hidden Gem
A mid-size city with a Big Ten college vibe, Champaign is one of east-central Illinois’ favorite twins. At this crossroads of interstates 57, 72 and 74 is a micro-urban hotspot in the seemingly endless fields of corn and soy — an academic mecca and a corporate hub — where the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and many of the state’s Fortune 500 companies meet.
Although the UIUC inverts the conventional acronym for Champaign-Urbana, the university is the beating heart of the C-U. It’s the largest single employer in the region (not counting the government), and it’s also an epicenter of commerce and culture. The UIUC Research Park has created a hub for hundreds of important companies, working on everything from CommTech to agriculture. The university’s museums and gardens are some of the best spots in the city to visit, especially lesser-known treasures like the Japan House. There’s just no doubt that one of the best reasons to live in the C-U is the U of I.
Another is proximity. Champaign is less than three hours from Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis, so when you have a craving for deep dish, toasted rav or hi-octane racing, you can make a quick getaway to Lou Malnati’s, the Arch or the Indy Motor Speedway. But there are plenty of fun things to do right here in the city. Sample the suds at Urbana’s craft breweries, like 25 O’clock. Use the Kickapoo Rail Trail to train for that marathon you regrettably registered for in the odd hours of an insomniac night. Join a broomball team and kick the puck out of your friends at the Ice Arena. Or just be the laziest floater in the lazy river at the Sholem Aquatic Center. There should really be a trophy for that.
As you can see, Champaign-Urbana may be coed-centric but it’s also family-friendly, budget-friendly and just regular-friendly, too. Both renters and buyers here will find a real estate market open to mere mortals — Champaign’s prices are dwarfed by expensive Chicago suburbs like Naperville.
Already, 92,000 people call this diverse, welcoming and fun city home — what are you waiting for? If you’re interested in moving to the C-U, check out the pros and cons of living in Champaign, Illinois, below. Our moving guide breaks down all the essentials, from the weather and attractions to the housing market and career opportunities. Read on to see if moving to Champaign-Urbana could be right for you.
Embrace the Micro Urban Lifestyle in Champaign
Four True Seasons — and Something to Love in Each One
With a mellow spring and fall piqued by icy notes of winter and a sultry summer finish, you could call Champaign the Champagne of American climates. But to be honest, this is more of a beer-drinking town — it is, after all, the home of Big Ten heavyweight UIUC.
In Champaign’s coldest months, lows average in the upper teens and low 20s F, perfect for a Bog Standard robust porter from 25 O’clock in Urbana. Snowfall is modest in Champaign, and most seasons see accumulations of around 20 inches.
Spring comes slowly ‘round the bend like the 6-8-week lagering schedule at Savoy, Illinois’ Triptych Brewing. Welcome these finally-frost-free temps when they arrive in April with a Pretty Nice Little Saturday, a pale lager with a crisp air and out-of-the-woodsy notes. Tornadoes are always a possibility in the Midwest, especially in the transition from spring to summer, but Champaign doesn’t seem as prone to these catastrophes as its neighbors.
At the end of Champaign’s steamy, summer days, when the highs hit the mid-80s and the humidity levels spike, relax into the late-August evening air — which often drops into the 60s — with a Smoked Lager from Riggs, foretelling the Labor Day barbeques you’re about to enjoy.
Autumn is the finest season in this college town, so grab some bottles of Wizard Smoke kombucha from Cloud Mountain and head out on a hike. In the evening, pull up to a table at Collective Pour and take a sip out of town with one of St. Louis’ finest — a seasonal hard cider from Brick River, like the blueberry-lavender gem, Sweet Lou’s.
Affordable Living with Room to Grow
Since the pandemic hit, it’s often felt like the U.S. real estate market lost its mind, mirroring how many of us felt locked down inside our homes. On the coasts, the average value is now double, triple, or even quadruple the national average — San Francisco’s median has risen to $1.4 million, compared to the still-not-so-humble U.S median of $303,400.
This is where Champaign shines like a Hollywood star. The median home value in this Central Illinois city is just $199,700, and the gross median rent is only $1,004/month, which not only makes it a bargain compared to oceanside metros but also to its landlocked neighbors in Illinois. Prices in the city of Chicago average $315,200 and those in outer-lying suburbs like Joliet and Aurora are $50–60,000 above the Champaign average. Prices in tonier neighborhoods like Naperville deliver even bigger sticker-shock, where $509,900 can’t even get you a view of Lake Michigan.
This more affordable market can be especially appealing to younger couples hoping to buy their first home. The MIT Living Wage calculator estimates that two working adults without children need to earn $58,974 before taxes to budget minimum expenses. These include:
- $7,782 for food
- $6,227 for medical expenses
- $10,954 for housing
- $9,935 for transportation
- $5,504 for civic expenses
- $1,975 for internet/mobile services
- $8,698 for taxes
- $7,900 for miscellaneous expenses
This is reasonable for many Champaign residents, where the median household income is $57,544 — well below the U.S. median of $78,538. Still, poverty remains a significant issue in this college town, with nearly a quarter of residents living below the poverty line.
Work Opportunities in a Tech-Savvy College Town
If you’re considering a move to the C-U for your career, you’ll find a wide array of opportunities for a city this size. The unemployment rate is far lower here than the national average, and it stood at just 2.8% in April 2025. Champaign-Urbana has a nonfarm, civilian workforce of 124,000, and the biggest single employer is the government. More than 46,000 individuals are employed in the public sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second largest is — no surprise — education and health services, with 19,300 jobs, while trade, transportation and utilities employ nearly 17,000. Because the area is a recreational hotspot for the state, over 12,000 individuals have found work in the leisure and hospitality sector in Champaign-Urbana.
Homegrown giants like the U of I, Carle Health, the OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center and Champaign Unity 4 School District are some of the region’s largest employers, but there are also 21 Fortune 500 companies in the region, so this micro-urban center of the Midwest pulls way above its weight. This is, in part, thanks to the UIUC Research Park, where 120 global megaliths and upstarts base their C-U operations. These include little mom-and-pops like Cargill, ADM, Motorola, Wolfram Research and Yahoo/Verizon. The industry to watch in Champaign, though? Data science. The UIUC’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) has brought an international spotlight to its groundbreaking digital scholarship, where dreams are built in code and GPUs, possibly flying over our heads right now like a chocolate bar in Wonkavision.
Education in Champaign
Education is central in this central Illinois city, where 95% of residents have graduated from high school and 54% are college graduates, too. High-schoolers in the city attend either Central High or Centennial High in the Unit 4 School District, and Mahomet-Seymour High School — the highest-ranked school in the city by the U.S. News & World Report — serves teenagers living just outside the city in District 3. Private schools from the elementary level forward are also popular, from the Montessori School of Champaign-Urbana to college prep institutions like Academy High.
Once your child graduates from high school, they won’t have to venture far to get a great education. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) ties for the #33 spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s list of National Universities, and it also ties with UC Davis and UC Irvine for the #9 slot on the Top Public Universities list. Engineering, computer science, insurance and marketing are just a few of the diverse array of programs the university excels in.
And, in this central region, it’s easy for grads to find another school nearby that caters even more specifically to their pursuits, from the SAIC — School of the Art Institute of Chicago — to Northwestern, the University of Chicago, Loyola, Indiana University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Only in Champaign: Local Favorites You Won’t Want to Miss
Parks, Trails and Nature Escapes
With 60+ parks between them, the wonder twins of Champaign-Urbana really make this region a prime spot for outdoorsmen, whether you want to cycle your way through the cities on the Kickapoo Rail Trails or immerse yourself in outdoor art at Meadowbrook Park’s sculpture-lined pathways and prairielands.
While Lake Michigan isn’t far from the city, Crystal Lake Park puts the beach in your backyard — rent a paddle board or just put up your do-not-disturb sign by donning your darkest shades and hiding behind a juicy page-turner on the sand.
The Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve is only a short drive away in Mahomet, and golfers can play a round of frustration-ball here while the saner members of your family try their hand at smooth sailing or enjoying the woods on a long hike.
If your green thumb needs an outlet, Dodd’s Park has community gardens, but across these 100 acres there are softball fields, tennis courts, a disc golf course and the famous Olympic monument and the Champaign County Worker’s Memorial. The park connects to the Greenbelt Bike Trail, if you want to get here on two wheels.
Family-Friendly Attractions
Champaign’s children’s museum may have shuttered during the pandemic, but there are still plenty of places to take the tinies in this college town. The Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College gives proto-stargazers a deep look at outer space, with light shows and lectures to make creative science minds burn bright. You can even rent a telescope from them for the weekend. At UIUC’s Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, kids can scavenge their way through the galleries playing artifact bingo, collecting (with their eyes) objects like the bust of an empress, a vintage surgical tool (ouch!) and an effigy … please, no burning of effigies inside the museum.
When the weather is nice, Prairie Farm gives you all the Little House feels without any of the pioneer responsibilities. The classic red barn and grounds are filled with baby goats, giant bunnies and squeaky pigs, all waiting for your visit. The miniature horses are the hardest thing to resist at this city petting zoo, and many a tear has been shed — by children and My Little Pony-loving Gen-Xers — over leaving these petite equines behind.
In the summer, everyone can cool their jets in the lazy river at the Sholem Aquatic Center at Centennial Park. Hot and weary parents can simply park themselves in the shallows of the zero-depth pool while their children work up a good night’s sleep splashing in the play area, riding slides and learning to dive for sunken treasure — fingers crossed that this essential life skill will literally pay off one day.
When winter arrives, the U of I becomes the You of Ice, with their ice arena that’s open to the public. In addition to figure skating and hockey, there is the chaotic ice-sport of broomball, which — in the hands of the wrong players — can look a lot like a frozen version of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Local Secrets Worth Discovering
The U of I has a couple of lesser-known attractions that crowds of students rarely visit, but your family will love. The UIUC Arboretum is both a research and relaxation center, where students and faculty study trees and members of the public can simply enjoy the shady canopy. There are over 100 acres to explore here, with water features and gardens. The Japan House transports you across the Pacific for traditional tea ceremonies in a stunning garden setting. In a manicured, natural space like this one, it’s hard not to enter a meditative state.
Film buffs will give two thumbs up to local events like Ebertfest, which was co-founded in 1999 by Chaz Ebert and the late, great film critic Roger Ebert, who just happens to be a U of I alum. The festival screens favorites from past and present and brings in some of the hottest names in Hollywood to present them, from Rosanna Arquette to David Fortune to Francis Ford Coppola.
The city also puts out the red carpet once a month for First Fridays, when local galleries showcase art from around the region and the country and residents can enjoy live music and upbeat community vibes.
Anytime is a good time to visit the Champaign County History Museum at the Historic Cattle Bank. Sure, it’s a local history center, but hold your yawn — some serious dung went down in Champaign back in the day, and this place is eager to tell you all about it. The TL;DR version of the infamous, Depression-era heist is that once upon a time in C-U, a local gentleman by the name of Henry Harris had the gall to host a ball while the stock market was busy crashing. While the guests were distracted, robbers snuck in and emerged with more than $30,000 worth of cash and goods worn by party-goers — that would be around $500K today.
Planning a Move to Champaign? Here’s How to Make It Smoother
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