Dear Chamber Members, Table of
Is it time to start budgeting? Are you about to start the strategic planning process or determine where your next target market might be? The Chamber has a solve for that.
We are pleased to provide your company with the Champaign County of Commerce’s ninth annual Trends Report. This publication gives you, our members, information, and data that can be used in daily business decision-making.
One of the biggest challenges facing all business owners and managers is making the right decisions to grow your companies, expand your products and /or improve your services.
Using data, and understanding trends, the local marketplace and local demographics help your company as you strategically plan for the future.
Like our monthly EDGE e-newsletter, this publication helps continuously provide our members with data on an ongoing basis to assist your company. Please get in touch with us and let us know if we can add more information that would be invaluable to your particular industry. We want to know what you need to help support those gut-made decisions backed with data. Your feedback is encouraged to Lauraw@champaigncounty.org.
We hope you find the Trends Report helpful to your company.
Sincerely,
Laura Weis President & CEOInformation included in this report reflects most recent data available at the time of publication. Data may be from 2022 or before depending on what is avalailable at the time of publication.
Population Percent Change
WHAT THIS MEANS:
• The pandemic has affected populations across Central Illinois and nationally, but populations are starting to go back up.
• Remote work has made it easier for people to move to different communities.
UIUC TOTAL STUDENT POPULATION
AT UIUC
WHAT THIS MEANS:
U of I students from Champaign County increased by 390 from 2021, continuing the steady increase that began in 2019.
DEMOGRAPHICS Chart Title
Race
Chart Title
age
WHAT THIS MEANS: CHAMPAIGN COUNTY IS A YOUNG, DIVERSE POPOULATION IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS.
Sex
Sources: University Science and Technology Coalition (2019)
ILLINOIS INNOVATION
Two of the world’s fastest supercomputers: Argonne’s Mira and Blue Waters are at the University of Illinois.
20 publicly supported innovation hubs’–innovation hubs, including 7 parks focused on research and technology, have spurred over $1.8 billion in private investments and aided over 620 companies.
22,531 new businesses launched in Chicagoland in 2012
Almost 450 active startups in Illinois created with university support since 2009
Computer science graduates make up 14.4% of all Illinois STEM graduates.
The workforce is 1.6 times larger with a notable concentration in engineering specialties such as manufacturing, mechatronics, microsystems and other related fields.
Unemployment Rates (Champaign County)
A Closer Look:
State of Illinois
2026
The most common jobs held by residents of Champaign County (by number of employees) are education instruction & library occupations (13,557 people), office & administrative support occupations (11,397 people) and management occupations (9,618 people).
Government - 5.5% Natural Resources - .01% Construction - 3.7% Manufacturing - 9.2% Wholesale Trade - 5.2% Retail - 9.9% Transportation - 5.4% Information - 1.5% Finance - 6.2 % Professional Business Services - 16% Education - 9% Health Care - 13.5% Hospitality - 10.6% Other - 4.2%
Professional
k - 12 Student Demographic By District:
White: 32%
Champaign:
Black: 36.9%
Hispanic: 14.3%
Asian: 8.3%
Other: 8.3%
Mahomet:
White: 85.9%
Black: 1.7%
Hispanic: 4.9%
Asian 2.1%:
Other: 5.2%
White: 24.3%
Black: 29.5%
Hispanic: 32.6%
Asian: 0.1%
Other: 13%
White: 27.9%
Black: 39.6%
Urbana:
St. Joseph: CCSD 169
Hispanic: 17.2%
Asian 3.9%
Other: 10%
White: 94%
Black: 1.6%
Hispanic: 2.3%
Asian 0.5%:
Other: 0.6%
Fisher: CUSD 1
White: 93.9%
Black: 0.6%
Hispanic: 0.5%
Asian 0.3%:
Other: 2.8%
4-Year high school Graduation Rate (2022)
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY SALES TAXES
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY PROPERTY TAXES
Property Tax Paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value in Illinois is 2.05% This is the 2nd highest
AVERAGE SALES TAX 8.81%
AVERAGE SALES TAX 6.4%
CITY SALES TAX 10.25%
Median SALE PRICE AND YEar-over-Year change
home value index of champaign county
Voter Turnout
4,635,541 Persons Voting
6,098,729 Persons Voting Statewide
Illinois Land Value By Class
AG quick facts
$375,322 (in thousands of dollars) Total cash receipts from agricultural products in 2019.
12,551 lbs of honey produced in Champaign County in 2019
of
incubator
71% remain in Illinois 59% claim their origin as the U of I ENTREPRENEURSHIP Source: University of Illinois Research Park Website
venture capital / private equity: $1.2 Billion
45 Entrepreneurs during FY22 to start and grow their businesses in Champaign County.
BOTTOM LINE
Supporting these entrepreneurs means positive payoffs when it comes to economic growth and prosperity.
TRANSPORTATION
Sources: Sperling’s Best Places, FlexJobs
Champaign County Commute mode choice
The typical American commute has been getting longer each year since 2010. The average one-way commute in Champaign County takes 17.9 minutes. That’s shorter than the US average of 26.4 minutes.
Champaign County Commute Time to Work
What this means:
Transportation and infrastructure are vital to a robust economy. Mass transit ridership and airport departures increasing every year for the past few years and our commute time being well below the national average.
Work From Home
#4 #11 4.9%
Illinois ranks fourth for most remote jobs in the United States
Champaign ranks eleventh in remote worker population in Illinois
Illinois’ remote worker population is 4.9 percent of the total population
Boardings and Alightings at Champaign-Urbana Station
When asked how often Champaign County residents us Amtrak in 2018 (for the 2045 LRTP), 40 percent of the 577 respondents used it at least once a year.
2020 - 2021 Tourism impact
Tell your customers where to find you.
Customers and Sales Made Possible with Affordable, Effective Marketing Opportunities
Email Blasts
Is there a new product, service or information about your business that you would like the entire Chamber membership to learn about or utilize? Through our email blast program, we’ll send an email on your behalf to our 4,000 email contacts for just $500. We’ll even throw it on our Facebook page at no additional cost.
*Only ONE email blast will be sold per month on a first contact, first sold basis.
e-Connection Banner Ads
Every Monday, without fail, over 4,000 decision-makers receive our e-newsletter. People want to know what’s going on, we are a trusted source of information, so they open our e-Newsletter. That is what you want as an advertiser. Purchasing a banner ad to be placed at the top of the e-Connection gets you exposure to thousands for just $100 per week.
Website Directory Enhancements
Our website directory gets hundreds of views each day. We are like the modern-day version of 411 for people trying to find a business, resource or service. An enhanced listing makes you stand out against your competitors. Turn your standard listing into an eye-catching, search engine optimized marketing tool for just $79 annually
Website Banner Ads
A banner ad on our website means that your company name, logo, product or service is seen by 150K unique visitors annually. With pricing starting at just $300, where else can you find this affordable and effective exposure for your business?
Commerce Connection Ads
Do you know what happens when you add magazine print to your marketing strategy? According to Magazine Networks, you get the multiplier effect. They say, “people are 3.2 times more likely to identify the brand as one they wanted to find out more about and a 43 percent increase in their likelihood to purchase.” Our bi-monthly publication, Commerce Connection, gets mailed to all chamber members (and then some). Those chamber members employ an estimated 59,000 people. Imagine 59,000 people looking at an ad for your competitor? The Commerce Connection is not only your B2B best bet; it is also a strong force for B2C marketing.
Do you really want to be seen? There are a variety of ad sizes available starting at just $120. Member businesses can also purchase the magazine’s cover. You get exposure before readers even open the publication.
Mailing Labels
Sometimes, when you are trying to break through the internet noise, it pays to go ‘old-school’ with good old snail mail. We have names, and we will sell them. An exclusive benefit of Chamber membership allows you to purchase mailing lists containing names and physical addresses of Chamber member businesses to enhance your B2B marketing. Two lists are available for purchase:
Long list (approx. 2,000 contacts): $195
Need Affordable Health Insurance?
We Solve for That
This association plan aims to save employers and their employees money, while giving them more options with their healthcare choices. Health Alliance™, well known throughout the state for high-quality care and excellent service, coordinates essential services, including claims administration, medical management, provider network access and pharmacy benefits for the Association. The integrated communications and processes in these key areas help set Health Alliance apart from other plans that employ less effective, piecemeal approaches.
Benefits of joining the Champaign County Chamber Association Health Plan
New rules permit Chamber of Commerce groups to band together to purchase their healthcare coverage and to be subject to a large group rating through association health plans.
• Improved pricing.
• Greater buying power.
• Provides renewal stability.
For more information, please contact the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce at (217) 359-1791.
To qualify, you must:
• Be a member in good standing with the Champaign County Chamber.
• Maintain your membership in the Chamber
The Champaign Count y Chamber Association Health Plan brings together small, professional companies and organizations for educational purposes and to get the healthcare buying power of larger employers.