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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Urbana, IL
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Urbana profile


Living in Urbana



Urbana is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 38,468 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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 12.30% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.

In addition, Urbana is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Urbana culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Urbana really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Urbana every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Urbana. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Urbana benefits directly from this.

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 15.29 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

Many people in Urbana take advantage of public transportation to get around. In fact, for the size of the city, the number of people who use the bus to commute to work is quite high. This helps to fill a need among Urbana citizens for affordable transportation.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Urbana. 58.45% 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 Urbana in 2018 was $28,954, which is lower middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $115,816 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. Important ancestries of people in Urbana include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian.

In addition, Urbana has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (18.49%).

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