PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Champaign-Urbana, IL

55.1
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#119
of 387 metros
69%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Champaign ranks #119 of 387 US metros, ahead of 69% - carried by its rent (77/100) and held back most by environment (16/100).

77
strongest: Rent
73
then: Wages
16
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Champaign sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

55 69th percentile higher than 69% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Champaign Life Score

Champaign's composite score of 55.1 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #119 of 387, ahead of 69% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (77/100) and Wages (73/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (16/100) and Childcare (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.7 (rent-RPP 71.6). BLS median salary $66,936, 94,460 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,122/mo (studio $941).

FBI UCR (IL): 277 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,257/yr. EPA: 56 Superfund sites (IL). Ranks #116-#122 below.

Dimension detail

How Champaign scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 57/100 (20%)
Wages 73/100 (20%)
Rent 77/100 (15%)
Safety 65/100 (15%)
Schools 37/100 (10%)
Childcare 28/100 (10%)
Environment 16/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,936
Avg Median Salary
$1,122
2BR Fair Market Rent
277
Violent Crime/100K (IL)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,257
Infant Childcare/yr (IL)
56
Superfund Sites (IL)
94,460
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Champaign With...

Champaign vs Paducah Compare → Champaign vs Peoria Compare → Champaign vs Davenport Compare → Champaign vs Wildwood Compare → Champaign vs Waterloo Compare →

Ranking Context

Champaign outranks 69% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#116 Traverse City, MI 55.2 B
#117 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 55.2 B
#118 Manhattan, KS 55.2 B+
#119 Champaign-Urbana, IL 55.1 B
#120 Columbus, GA-AL 55.1 B
#121 Tulsa, OK 55.1 B
#122 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 55.0 B

IL Metro Scores

Paducah, KY-IL A+ 70.0 Peoria, IL A 63.9 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7 Decatur, IL B+ 58.7 Springfield, IL B+ 57.8 Rockford, IL B+ 57.1

Using Champaign's Life Score

Champaign is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (77/100) and its weakest is environment (16/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Champaign head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Champaign lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Champaign's biggest strengths? ▼
Champaign's strongest dimensions are Rent (77/100), Wages (73/100), Safety (65/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Champaign's weakest areas? ▼
Champaign's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (16/100), Childcare (28/100), Schools (37/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Champaign compared to the national average? ▼
Champaign's Regional Price Parity is 92.7 (7.3% less than national); rent RPP 71.6.
What is the average salary in Champaign? ▼
Champaign median salary: $66,936, 94,460 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Champaign's 55.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.