Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bloomington is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, ranked 204th of 767 in Illinois, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 77% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $77K. A typical home there costs about $269K, 3.4 years of the Bloomington metro’s $80K median household income. 46% of working residents work locally in Bloomington, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Clover Lawn and Stevenson House. Bloomington is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Bloomington beats most towns.
Clover Lawn is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 19 National Register listings are more than in 96% of Illinois towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,594 in 1850, 78,680 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 4 maps from 1958 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Bloomington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bloomington, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Bloomington.
Bloomington pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
28 miles of trail in 44 parks and preserves. The trail density in Bloomington is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is The Grove, 89 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Bloomington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.5% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Grove | 3.1 mi | 89 |
| 2. Miller Park | 0.9 mi | 70 |
| 3. Angler’s Lake Park | 0.7 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Bloomington. Bloomington beats the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 20% of adults get no exercise outside work in Bloomington.
| Bloomington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bloomington | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.4% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.2% | 13.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bloomington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 35,966 working residents takes 16.8 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Bloomington’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. Since 2013, Bloomington has lost 4,699 jobs, to 49,433 in 2023. 21% of Bloomington workers work from home.
| Bloomington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 21% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bloomington's reported crime rate is close to Illinois's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 250 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Bloomington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Bloomington grades A− overall with a typical home of about $269K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Bloomington home is worth about $269,000, up 2.2% in a year, 9% below the Illinois typical home.
| Bloomington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 75% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 38% | 46% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,050 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bloomington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bloomington. Close and well known come first.
37 mi GardenRobert Allerton Park
36 mi MuseumMonticello Railway Museumin town MuseumPrairie Aviation Museum36 mi Zoo & aquariumPeoria Zoo
3 mi GardenFell ArboretumRobert Allerton Park: D. Finnigan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monticello Railway Museum: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fell Arboretum: Willjay, CC BY 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Bloomington
About 8 of every 100 Bloomington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
19 places in Bloomington on the National Register of Historic Places.
54 notable people were born in Bloomington.
City in Illinois, United States
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 78,680 as of the 2020 census, making it the 13th-most populous city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, which has a population of roughly 170,000. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the headquarters for State Farm and Country Financial. Bloomington is also home to the minor…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Bloomington.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | #204 | A− | B− | — | B | A− |
| Bloomington City Township | #188 | A− | B− | — | B | A− |
| Bloomington Township | #331 | B+ | C | — | B+ | A |
| Old Town Township | #251 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A |
| Normal · Normal Township | #313 | B+ | B− | C | B+ | B+ |
| Dale Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | A |
| Towanda Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Dry Grove Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | A− |
Dale Township, Towanda Township and Dry Grove Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bloomington, Bloomington City Township, Bloomington Township, Old Town Township, Dale Township, Towanda Township and Dry Grove Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Normal Township and Normal are one community, graded once. Compare Bloomington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bloomington grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #204 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
54 notable people were born here, including Clinton Davisson and Elbert Green Hubbard.
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