City of Champaign History
Learn some interesting historical facts from the City of Champaign History pages.
Living
Featuring an extensive park system, a world-class library, urban shopping choices and a variety of living accommodations, Champaign offers urban perks with smaller city comforts. Whether you’re a resident, visiting or just curious, you’ll soon see Champaign is going strong.
See the Residents Resources page for more information on Living in Champaign.
Learning
Pursue a lifetime of learning from the University level down. Widely known as home to the University of Illinois, Champaign also benefits from a number of other educational opportunities.
- 18 high-quality primary and secondary schools
- Parkland College
- The world-class University of Illinois
- An award-winning library
- Diverse museums
Playing
There’s always something to do in Champaign. We play host to art and film festivals, U of I sporting events, state high school football, basketball and wrestling tournaments. The Champaign Park District hosts a mixture of festivals, holiday celebrations and family-friendly events. Excellent local parks, youth sports programs and miles of walking and biking opportunities make this a great place for families and individuals to have fun and stay healthy. Lakes and rivers for boating, fishing, canoeing, camping and nature park areas for hiking all add to the fun.
For those looking for shopping, dining and entertaining venues, our community boasts both urban-downtown and campustown, a regional mall, and many neighborhood destinations. If that’s not enough, there’s always time to explore the charming small-town festivals and parks in our outlying communities.
Growing
Through leadership, partnership and support we see continued growth in Champaign. A blend of manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, university, and high-tech research industries provide opportunities to nurture, grow, and maintain a business. The Business Resource page is a great place to start for Champaign business and economic development information.
Working
A very diverse work environment– health care, office and banking, University of Illinois, Parkland College, light manufacturing, retail, government and social services—offers many employment opportunities and career advancement options. High technology and research jobs are also available in the community and in the University Research Park.
Visiting
Located conveniently near Chicago, IL, Indianapolis, IN, and St. Louis MO, Champaign’s an easy place to visit on your next trip to the Midwest. Find resources for those new to Champaign on the Visitor’s Resource page.
Economic Development
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Events in Champaign
- Champaign’s History
- Champaign Area Links
- City of Champaign Videos
- Transportation
- Maps
- University and Education
- Scenic Attractions
- Shopping and Dining Out
- Downtown Champaign
- Arts and Culture
