Urbana, IL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Illinois·Urbana

Champaign County · Champaign-Urbana · population 39,831

First-time buyers
Urbana, IL
Image: Wikipedia · Urbana, Illinois
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
75
Rising
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Urbana stands

At or near all-time high. home values up 7.5% in the last year.

Median home $204,276
1-year +7.5%
5-yr CAGR +6.7%
vs 5-yr peak +0.0%
Population +1.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-04$204k$120k$151k$181k$212k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
85/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,442/mo$0$782$1,564202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent13913480100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 11.8
Buy

At a 11.8 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Urbana on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 11.8 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
83 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
73 · w22%
Distance from peak
90 · w18%
Population growth
64 · w16%
Rent YoY
72 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
59 · w10%
Long thesis

Urbana has held up across the cycle: home values at $204,276 with +6.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Urbana's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Urbana

Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, with an estimated population of 39,831. It anchors the Champaign-Urbana metro area. The population grew 1.0% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Urbana is $204,276 as of 2026-04, up 7.5% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +6.7% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Urbana average $1,442 per month, up 4.1% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 75 of 100 (Rising). The market is healthy with prices supported by underlying demand.

▲ Bull case

●Trend still working: prices up 7.5% in the last 12 months — buyers are still chasing inventory.
●Affordable AND rising: median home $204,276 with positive recent direction — rare combination most of the country can’t offer.
●Healthy 5-year run: +6.7% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Held the highs: currently +0.0% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Urbana (Wikipedia)

Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents in 2020. Urbana is notable for sharing the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of Champaign.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

You're not in a frenzy but you're not getting bargains either. Make a competitive offer with normal inspection terms. Don't lowball — the listing will move with or without you.

Seller

Price at fair market value; expect movement in 30-45 days. Don't get clever with terms (rent-back, contingencies) — buyers in a Rising market have options.

Investor

Appreciation tailwind exists but cash flow requires discipline on price. Run the numbers conservatively and confirm rent comps before committing.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Champaign County right now.

NWS active alerts (IL)Illinois Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Champaign County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Urbana

Morton, IL74 · RisingLemont, IL75 · RisingLake Zurich, IL72 · RisingMundelein, IL73 · Rising

Run the numbers for Urbana

ToolCan I afford Urbana?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Urbana rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Urbana to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolUrbana cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
33° / 18°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
85° / 64°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
189
~52% of year
Annual precip
38″ rain
22″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
High
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Urbana listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Champaign-Urbana area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
71%
Humid climate
Median household income
$78,400
Illinois state median
Top industries (state-level)
FinanceManufacturingHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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