Living in Urbana, IL
College town in Illinois
Urbana is a college town in Illinois, home to about 38,000 people, with 229,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a moderate pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Urbana a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $216k and rents for $1,440 a month
- Mild summers: highs around 84°F
- Low natural disaster risk: 2 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Dog-friendly: 10 dog parks within 9 mi
👎 Cons
- Weaker public schools: test results well below the US average
- Higher taxes: about $2,002 state income tax per resident, 2.4% property tax
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Fewer outdoor escapes: no big hills or water close by
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Urbana ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Urbana: common questions
What is the cost of living in Urbana?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $216k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,440 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 93, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Urbana?
Illinois collects about $2,002 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 2.4% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Urbana safe?
Violent crime is close to the national rate (0.8× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Urbana?
Public schools in Urbana test well below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 12 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Urbana?
Urbana has cold winters: winter days average around 37°F and summer days around 84°F, with roughly 21″ of snow a year.
Does Urbana get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding, cold waves and tornadoes: 2 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.29 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Urbana?
The nearest major airport is IND, about 104 mi away.
How Urbana scores
Each bar compares Urbana with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Urbana
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Illinois.
Is Urbana right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.