What is the cost of living in Champaign-Urbana?

Champaign-Urbana has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 71.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,122/month.

What is the median salary in Champaign-Urbana?

The median salary in Champaign-Urbana is $66,936 annually (mean: $71,735). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.

How safe is Champaign-Urbana?

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

What are the schools like in Champaign-Urbana?

The state of IL has 3,845 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.4:1. About 68.2% are Title I schools. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Champaign-Urbana?

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

Is Champaign-Urbana a good place to relocate?

Champaign-Urbana has a Life Score of 56.6/100 (C-), 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 an above-average score, Champaign-Urbana outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Champaign-Urbana sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Champaign-Urbana ranks #65 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

Champaign-Urbana, IL

LiveAbility 59.3/100 places Champaign-Urbana #65 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,122
2BR rent / mo: $66,936
Median salary: 59.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Champaign-Urbana ranks #65 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (59.3/100), with its strongest marks in housing and job market.

#65
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 (27/100). 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), Champaign-Urbana ranks #65 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,122/mo, median salary $66,936; LiveAbility Score 59.3/100, strongest in housing and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 59.3/100 places Champaign-Urbana #65 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,122/mo.

LiveAbility 59.3/100 puts Champaign-Urbana in the top third (#65 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Champaign-Urbana area is 94,460.

Champaign-Urbana 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)

59 Top 17% higher than 83% 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

Champaign-Urbana housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Champaign-Urbana MSA; housing RPP 71.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,122/mo.

Studio

$941

/month

1 Bedroom

$946

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,122

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,436

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,486

/month

Champaign-Urbana wages and employment

Champaign-Urbana posts 94,460 total employment with median salary $66,936.

Median Salary

$66,936

Mean Salary

$71,735

Total Employment

94,460

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$90,230
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,300
Cashiers	$32,130
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary	$50,110
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	$39,000

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Champaign-Urbana area from NCES.

Schools

3,845

Enrollment

1,844,783

Student:Teacher

13.4:1

Title I %

68.2%

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$12,257

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,556

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,481

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Champaign-Urbana's composite Life Score is 56.6/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

57/100

Above average

Wages

73/100

Strong

Rent

77/100

Strong

Crime

65/100

Strong

Schools

37/100

Below average

Childcare

28/100

Weak

Environment

31/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Champaign-Urbana ranks #65 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 59.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (77/100)

Housing

77
Job market

73
Safety

65
Schools

64
Cost of living

57
Air quality

51
Climate

43
Low hazard

27

What this shows Champaign-Urbana's strongest dimensions are housing and job market; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 27/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Champaign-Urbana to

Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor Sebring Sheboygan Sherman-Denison Shreveport-Bossier City Sierra Vista-Douglas

Metros near Champaign-Urbana on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Champaign-Urbana 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

† No air quality reading on file for this metro, so its score is built from fewer than all 8 dimensions: the missing dimension is omitted and the remaining weights renormalized. It is not directly comparable with a full 8-dimension score.

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

Champaign-Urbana cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Champaign-Urbana 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 →

Considering Champaign-Urbana as your next city?

Here is where Champaign-Urbana stands: a $66,936 median salary, a 92.7 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #65 of 387.

Check how Champaign-Urbana's salary and cost figures land on your own budget. Salary calculator
Compare Champaign-Urbana with a second city on the same dimensions. Compare Champaign-Urbana
In this corpus the closest related metro is Abilene; see how the two compare. 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

These cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a recommendation to move.