AFFORDABLE, RELAXED LIFESTYLE

We get it. You want to live in a vibrant, culture-rich city abundant with talent, but you’re sick of eating ramen noodles in your studio apartment with four roommates. In Champaign-Urbana, we enjoy lower prices on everything from food to transportation—the cost of living is more than 10 percent below the national average (according to Forbes). Even our entertainment is affordable, with almost all museums charging no admission, and plenty of free, live music on our city streets, parks, and bars.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Make your old roommates jealous with our affordable housing. A CNBC article reported that the “average price of a house bought in San Francisco rose by $205,000 in the first half of 2018, the largest six-month increase in history,” bringing the average house price in the city to $1.62 million. Looking to economize with something more affordable like a condo? Those have seen slower price increases and have an average price of only $1.21 million.

The median home sale price for 2020 for the Champaign County area was $167,625.

Here’s what local realtor Matt Difanis has to say about it:

“Look, I love the City by the Bay, but I could fly there every month–FIRST CLASS!–and spend a week in an upscale hotel with a lavish meal budget for the difference in monthly mortgage payments on a $1.62 million home there versus a $250,000 home here.”

LESS COMMUTING, MORE TIME FOR YOU

Cut down on gas, too, with an average 17 minute commute time that’s significantly less than the 25.5 national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Silicon Valley, more than 50 percent of commuters have a travel time of more than 90 minutes each way. Just think of all you could do with that extra time and money.

For our bike riders, you’ll be happy to know that the League of American Bicyclists named our cities bicycle-friendly, with Urbana as a Gold-level and Champaign as a Silver-level.

PUBLIC TRANSIT GALORE

If you prefer, sit back and relax on your commute in Champaign-Urbana, and let someone else do the driving. Each year, nearly 12 million rides are handled by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD). To put this in perspective, fellow Midwest cities Nashville and Indianapolis (both substantially bigger) provide approximately 10 million rides each year. With 100 percent of the fleet equipped with bike racks, riding MTD is an easy choice.

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