Normal is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 52,838 people and 13 associated neighborhoods, Normal is the 28th largest community in Illinois.Normal is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.95% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Normal is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Normal who work in sales jobs (12.74%), office and administrative support (9.73%), and business and financial occupations (8.71%). Also of interest is that Normal has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Normal telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.49% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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. Normal is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Normal have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Normal’s economy is one such example of this. Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 17.80 minutes getting to work every day.If knowledge is power, Normal is a pretty powerful place. 53.88% of the adults in Normal have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Normal in 2022 was $34,466, which is middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $137,864 for a family of four. However, Normal contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Normal is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Normal home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Normal residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Normal include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Normal is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
