Urbana is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 39,831 people and 13 associated neighborhoods, Urbana is the 47th largest community in Illinois.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Urbana has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Urbana has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Urbana telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 18.59% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Because Urbana has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Urbana lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Urbana is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Urbana people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both.

Urbana, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Urbana spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 15.38 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

Urbana has a lot of people who ride the bus to and from work. In fact, for its size, Urbana has quite a high level of public transit users. Urbana’s need for inexpensive transportation options for its citizens is quite high.

If knowledge is power, Urbana is a pretty powerful place. 56.75% of the adults in Urbana have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Urbana in 2022 was $32,592, which is lower middle income relative to Illinois, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $130,368 for a family of four. However, Urbana contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Urbana is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Urbana home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Urbana residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Urbana also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.12% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Urbana include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Urbana's cultural character, accounting for 21.18% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Urbana is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.