Champaign is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 89,241 people and 20 associated neighborhoods, Champaign is the tenth largest community in Illinois.Champaign is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 85.41% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Champaign is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Champaign who work in teaching (14.62%), office and administrative support (9.34%), and management occupations (8.30%). Also of interest is that Champaign has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 13.22% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 Champaign 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 Champaign lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Champaign 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 Champaign people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both. Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.67 minutes getting to work every day. Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Champaign is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Champaign area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Champaign. 51.76% 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 Champaign in 2022 was $34,879, which is middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $139,516 for a family of four. However, Champaign contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Champaign is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Champaign home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Champaign residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Champaign include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish. In addition, Champaign has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (17.01%). The most common language spoken in Champaign is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
