Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Illinois

Real estate businesses in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #255 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois

Listings
274
16 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
149
+13.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,538 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
112
12% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
27.9
28% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
239,979
+1.5% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 274 real estate businesses in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. 16 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 27.9, 28% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

At $13,538 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area spend about $1.3B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 12% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 149 businesses with payroll in the Champaign-Urbana metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 13.1% from 2019. That is one for every 659 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 612 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $600K have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Champaign-Urbana metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Champaign-Urbana metro area grew 1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is 42 (lower middle), #255 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.

How the Champaign-Urbana metro area compares

The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureChampaign-Urbana metro areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households27.932.738.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)112105100
Households per official establishment659543414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.1%+4.1%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,538$14,866$16,661
Median household income$65,528$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score4243

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
149+13.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
972
Annual payroll, 2023
$65.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
612Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
27416 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
307The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$600K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Champaign-Urbana metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
239,979+1.5% since 2020
Households
98,224
Median age
36.2
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,921 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$65,528
Average household income
$92,216
Median home value
$201,700
Jobs located here
101,931
Daytime population
245,150Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Champaign-Urbana metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Illinois for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Champaign-Urbana metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Illinois

Metro areas in Illinois ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Decatur, IL586915.9191−4.3%#106 of 387
Paducah, KY-IL589121.8149−1.2%#107 of 387
2Peoria, IL5732120.9154−1.3%#112 of 387
3Rockford, IL5626319.4161−0.3%#123 of 387
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL5635421.9146−0.9%#124 of 387
4Springfield, IL5120823.1141−1.2%#169 of 387
5Kankakee, IL519723.7135−1.7%#170 of 387
6Bloomington, IL4921730.9108+0.1%#190 of 387
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL459925.8118+1.7%#234 of 387
7Champaign-Urbana, IL4227427.9112+1.5%#255 of 387

Other business types in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area?

The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 274 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 16 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 149 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 13.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 612 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1.3B a year, or $13,538 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 274 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 12% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 98,224 households in the Champaign-Urbana metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Champaign-Urbana metro area has 27.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 28% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 112, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Champaign-Urbana metro area would have about 307, against 274 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 659 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Champaign-Urbana metro area at 239,979 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 98,224 households. The median household income in the Champaign-Urbana metro area is $65,528 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Champaign-Urbana metro area scores 42 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #255 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Champaign-Urbana metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Champaign-Urbana metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.