What is the cost of living in Bloomington?

Bloomington has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 74.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,302/month.

What is the median salary in Bloomington?

The median salary in Bloomington is $66,137 annually (mean: $69,528). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, Cashiers.

How safe is Bloomington?

The violent crime rate in the Bloomington area is 277 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1665 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Bloomington?

The state of IL has 3,845 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Bloomington?

Infant center-based childcare in the Bloomington area averages $12,257 per year. Preschool averages $9,481/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Bloomington a good place to relocate?

Bloomington has a Life Score of 51.1/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Bloomington sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Bloomington ranks #143 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Bloomington, IL

LiveAbility 54.1/100 places Bloomington #143 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,302
2BR rent / mo: $66,137
Median salary: 54.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Bloomington ranks #143 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.1/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#143
of 387 US metros · Above median: 12,710,158
metro-area population: 277
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,845
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (28/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Bloomington ranks #143 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,302/mo, median salary $66,137; LiveAbility Score 54.1/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 54.1/100 places Bloomington #143 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,302/mo.

LiveAbility 54.1/100 keeps Bloomington in the middle third (#143 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Bloomington area is 70,320.

Bloomington vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 37% higher than 63% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Bloomington housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Bloomington MSA; housing RPP 74.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,302/mo.

Studio

$927

/month

1 Bedroom

$999

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,302

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,717

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,724

/month

Bloomington wages and employment

Bloomington posts 70,320 total employment with median salary $66,137.

Median Salary

$66,137

Mean Salary

$69,528

Total Employment

70,320

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,200
Registered Nurses	$79,970
Cashiers	$31,200
Retail Salespersons	$31,670
General and Operations Managers	$93,250

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Bloomington area from NCES.

Schools

3,845

Enrollment

1,844,783

Student:Teacher

14:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Bloomington area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$12,257

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,556

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,481

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Bloomington's composite Life Score is 51.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

50/100

Average

Wages

72/100

Strong

Rent

50/100

Average

Crime

65/100

Strong

Schools

36/100

Below average

Childcare

28/100

Weak

Environment

30/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Bloomington ranks #143 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.1/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (72/100)

Job market

72
Safety

65
Schools

64
Air quality

52
Cost of living

50
Housing

50
Climate

42
Low hazard

28

What this shows Bloomington's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 28/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Bloomington to

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin New Haven New Orleans-Metairie New York-Newark-Jersey City Niles North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota

Metros near Bloomington on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Bloomington on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Bloomington cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Bloomington wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Bloomington?

Bloomington runs a $66,137 median salary at a 93.5 cost index, ranking #143 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Bloomington's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Bloomington head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Bloomington
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.