Champaign is a nice balance between life in a moderately big city and the interesting diversions and culture that come from having a big college student population. The thousands of students who arrive on campus every fall will find that Champaign has plenty of amenities and opportunities for them, while residents of Champaign enjoy the lectures, music, art, and economic trickle-down that colleges typically provide. "Town and Gown" complement each other in Champaign.
Not only is Champaign a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Champaign a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Champaign spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 16.66 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
A lot of people in Champaign take the bus for their daily commute. For the size of the city, the number of people who use public transportation is quite high. For many people in Champaign, this fills their need for low-cost transportation.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Champaign. 53.61% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Champaign in 2022 was $35,886, which is middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $143,544 for a family of four. However, Champaign contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Champaign is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Champaign home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Champaign residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Champaign include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Champaign's cultural character, accounting for 16.95% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Champaign is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
