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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-NORMAL-IL · Normal, IL 52,908 pop · income 45th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Normal
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Normal on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Elyria · lowest
53,204
Elyria · lowest
53,204 median HH income
41.2% of the leader · rank #1
Florissant · near
66,344
Florissant · near
66,344 median HH income
51.3% of the leader · rank #2
Flatonia · near
66,344
Flatonia · near
66,344 median HH income
51.3% of the leader · rank #3
Normal · this city
66,350
Normal · this city
66,350 median HH income
51.3% of the leader · rank #4
Livonia · near
66,350
Livonia · near
66,350 median HH income
51.3% of the leader · rank #5
Casa Grande · near
66,354
Casa Grande · near
66,354 median HH income
51.3% of the leader · rank #6
Edina · highest
129,225
Edina · highest
129,225 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Normal on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 52,908.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Normal - the verdict
Nationally, Normal sits in the 45th percentile for household income and the 35th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
45th
percentile, household income
43rd
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
35th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Normal, IL
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 52,908 residents in Normal, a small city within Illinois. The typical household in Normal brings in $66,350 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.2%. Normal's housing stock carries a median value of $199,900, and the median resident age is 25.2 years. About 52.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 59.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 103 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 36% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1879.3 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 51.1°F with 39.4 inches of precipitation per year and 20.1 inches of snowfall.
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Illinois at 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,063 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Illinois's average monthly utility costs around $240 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 54.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Normal's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Normal, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Normal?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Normal?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 51.1°F, with 39.4 inches of precipitation and 20.1 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Illinois is 54.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Normal?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Oak Park (53,315 residents, $108,026 income); Wheaton (53,453 residents, $119,566 income); Hoffman Estates (51,186 residents, $109,683 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Winter Haven, FL (52,846 residents); Elyria, OH (52,833 residents); Methuen, MA (53,043 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Normal growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +266 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 103 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
53,009
2025 estimate
53,275
Period change
+0.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 17 public schools within the city match. 52.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
6.2%
Bachelor's degree+
52.5%
Matched public schools
17
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Normal?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1879.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 18% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
1879.3
Violent rate
329.1
Property rate
1550.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 6.2% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
D
City profile score · Normal, IL
49/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A
52.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate C
6.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$66,350
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
329 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Normal profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 86/100 (A) · 52.5%
Poverty rate: 58/100 (C) · 6.2%
Household income: 44/100 (D) · $66,350
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Violent crime: 29/100 (F) · 329 /100k
Where Normal sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Normal's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Normal highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Normal, IL (this city): home $199,900, crime 1,879/100k
Winter Haven, FL : home $248,200, crime 1,785/100k
Elyria, OH : home $142,800, crime 1,771/100k
Methuen, MA : home $472,200, crime 972/100k
Grand Island, NE : home $202,600, crime 2,128/100k
Edina, MN : home $624,000, crime 1,563/100k
Oak Park, IL : home $456,300, crime 3,931/100k
Wheaton, IL : home $447,700, crime 591/100k
Hoffman Estates, IL : home $340,400, crime 1,142/100k
Tinley Park, IL : home $289,000, crime 1,354/100k
Mount Prospect, IL : home $377,000, crime 977/100k
Berwyn, IL : home $286,000, crime 1,252/100k
How does Normal compare to other US cities?
Normal measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income45% higher than other cities
Home value43% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
Safety35% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Illinois and the picture shifts: Normal ranks #351 of 455 Illinois cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Normal against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Normal near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Normal ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Normal only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#677 of 1,311
48th percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#356 of 1,315
73rd percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#746 of 1,335
44th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#98 of 1,336
93rd percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
45th percentile nationally for median household income · 35th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Normal's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Normal's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Normal's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$199,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 57% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Normal's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,762 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#118 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 3.0×, Normal sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,762 of 15,516 and #118 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$66,350Normal, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Normal, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Normal, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)52.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
52,908
Median Income
$66,350
Median Home Value
$199,900
Median Age
25.2
Poverty Rate
6.2%
Labor force participation
59.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
52.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1879.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
329.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1550.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
51.1°F
Annual Precipitation
39.4"
Annual Snowfall
20.1"
Schools
Total Schools
17
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Normal's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
53,009 residents
2021
52,957 residents
2022
52,776 residents
2023
52,932 residents
2024
53,225 residents
2025
53,275 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
103
housing units authorized
Single-Family
57
detached homes
Multifamily
46
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
76
39
37
$6.7M
2020
81
65
16
$15.6M
2021
84
68
16
$17.4M
2022
114
114
0
$32.2M
2023
71
71
0
$19.5M
2024
103
57
46
$19.4M
Permit volume increased 36% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.8%
Carpool
6.1%
Public Transit
1.4%
Walk
8.7%
Work from Home
12.4%
Other
0.6%
Based on 25,971 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Normal. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Normal is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Normal sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Normal compares to similar-size Illinois cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.