Should I Move To
Roughly 78,788 people live in Bloomington, Illinois. Living here costs affordable relative to the rest of the country, 13% below the national average. Median rent runs about $959/mo; the typical household pulls in $73,119. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 61/100 — a C+, putting it at #122 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Bloomington sits at 87 — affordable when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($959/mo against $73,119 median household income), housing eats roughly 16% of a typical paycheck — comfortably under the 30% rule of thumb, which is unusual. Buying-side, the median home value is $190,700.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is cold-winter: roughly 82°F in summer, 22°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 38 inches. Car-dependent for most errands, with small walkable pockets downtown or in older neighborhoods. On crime, it scores well — incidents per capita run noticeably under the national average. Air quality reads good (AQI 45).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Bloomington is workable — not standout, not weak. It earns 72/100 (grade B) on the families profile. Strongest on safety (96/100); weakest on climate (29/100).
For retirees, Bloomington is workable — not standout, not weak. It earns 62/100 (grade C+) on the retirees profile. Strongest on safety (96/100); weakest on climate (29/100).
For remote workers, Bloomington is workable — not standout, not weak. It earns 64/100 (grade C+) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on safety (96/100); weakest on climate (29/100).
For young professionals, Bloomington is workable — not standout, not weak. It earns 62/100 (grade C+) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on safety (96/100); weakest on climate (29/100).
Bloomington, Illinois pulls a 61/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade C+), currently ranked #122 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
Bloomington's cost-of-living index is 87 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the affordable band — 13% below the national average. Median rent runs about $959/mo.
Cold-winter — summer averages around 82°F, winter averages around 22°F, with about 38 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 46/100. Car-dependent for most errands, with small walkable pockets downtown or in older neighborhoods.
Bloomington has about 78,788 residents, 47% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 36.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put Bloomington head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how Bloomington stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Bloomington with other Illinois cities scored on UrbRank.
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