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 about 236,000 residents in 2020. Urbana is notable for sharing the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of Champaign.
History The Urbana area was first settled by Europeans in 1822, when it was called "Big Grove".McGinty, Alice. "The Story of Champaign-Urbana" Champaign Public Library When the county of Champaign was organized in 1833, the county seat was located on 40 acres of land, 20 acres donated by William T. Webber and 20 acres by M. W. Busey, considered to be the city's founder, and the name "Urbana" was adopted after Urbana, Ohio, the hometown of State Senator John W. Vance, who authored the enabling act creating Champaign County. The creation of the new town was celebrated for the first time on July 4, 1833.
Stores began opening in 1834. The first mills were founded in -50. The town's first church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the parsonage, was built in 1840 by the Rev. A. Bradshaw, with the Baptist Church following in 1855. The Presbyterian Church was founded in 1856. The city's first school was built in 1854.
Urbana suffered a setback when the Chicago branch of the Illinois Central Railroad, which had been expected to pass through town, was instead laid down two miles west, where the land was flatter. The town of West Urbana grew up around the train depot built there in 1854; further, in 1861, its name was changed to Champaign. The competition between the two cities provoked Urbana to tear down the 10-year-old county courthouse and replace it with a much larger and fancier structure, to ensure that the county seat would remain in Urbana.
Champaign-Urbana was selected as the site for a new state agricultural school, thanks to the efforts of Clark Griggs. Illinois Industrial University, which evolved into the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, opened in 1868 with 77 students.
A number of efforts to merge Urbana and Champaign have failed at the polls.
On October 9, 1871, a fire burned much of downtown Urbana. Children playing with matches started the fire. (It is unrelated to the Great Chicago Fire that started the day before, though both fires occurred during severe drought and were spread by high winds.)
Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Urbana has a total area of , of which (or 0.60%) is covered by water.
Urbana borders the city of Champaign. The main campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is situated on this border. Together, these two cities are often referred to as Urbana-Champaign (the designation used by the university) or Champaign-Urbana (the more common usage, due to the larger size of Champaign). With the nearby village of Savoy, they form the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
+Urbana city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)23,81123,80918,84865.42%57.72%49.17%Black or African American alone (NH)5,1816,6517,11214.24%16.12%18.55%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4959540.13%0.14%0.14%Asian alone (NH)5,1697,3056,98514.20%17.71%18.22%Pacific Islander alone (NH)1057130.03%0.14%0.03%Other race alone (NH)1091341720.30%0.32%0.45%Multiracial (NH)7781,0701,8842.14%2.59%4.91%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,2882,1653,2683.54%5.25%8.52%Total36,39541,25038,336100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336, with 16,075 households and 6,680 families residing in the city. The population density was .
The median age was 27.2 years; 13.6% of residents were under 18 and 11.8% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 100.6 males 18 and over.
All of the residents lived in urban areas, while none lived in rural areas.
Of the 16,075 households in Urbana, 17.7% had children under 18 living in them, 26.3% were married-couple households, 31.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 19,784 51.6% Black or African American 7,229 18.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 116 0.3% Asian 7,002 18.3% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 13 0.0% Some other race 1,367 3.6% Two or more races 2,825 7.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 3,268 8.5%
Housing
The 2020 census counted 18,321 housing units in Urbana, with an average density of . The 2020–2024 American Community Survey estimated 19,228 housing units, consisting of 10,569 renter-occupied units, 6,287 owner-occupied units, and 2,372 vacant units.
College towns commonly have rental-oriented housing markets. In Urbana, the city reports more than 10,000 rental units, comprising nearly two-thirds of its housing stock.
Estimates of housing vacancy vary according to their source, definition, and methodology. In a July 2026 presentation to the Urbana City Council, city staff and the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission presented preliminary landlord-survey results indicating a rental vacancy rate between 1.3% and 5.5%. Written materials accompanying the presentation noted that disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic limited the accuracy of Urbana's 2020 census data. They also stated that the American Community Survey estimates did not fully account for the city's 2025 special census and that local and non-Census sources were being used to provide context for federal data.
Census classifications of vacant housing are broader than the number of homes available to prospective tenants and can include units that have been rented or sold but are not yet occupied, seasonal units, and units otherwise unavailable to the rental market. A contemporaneous study in neighboring Champaign found a rental vacancy rate of 1.5% in its landlord survey and a residential vacancy rate of 1.8% in United States Postal Service data. It used a rate closer to 2% for its housing-demand projections.
Arts and culture
Candlestick Lane
Candlestick Lane is the name of a neighborhood in eastern Urbana. This neighborhood consists of Grant Place and adjacent properties on Fairlawn and Eastern Drives. It is called Candlestick Lane because every year, the residents decorate their yards for Christmas with lights and figures. The tradition began around 1961 as a house-decorating contest sponsored by the Illinois Power Company. The neighborhood used its prize money to purchase electric candlesticks for each home. The City of Urbana installs special red and green street signs, reading "Candlestick Lane" and "Grant Place" during the holiday season. The lights are turned on from around 5:00 to 10:00 pm from the third Saturday in December through New Year's Day.
Market at the Square
The Market at the Square, also known as the Farmers' Market, has been a community event in Urbana since 1979. Every Saturday morning from sometime in May to sometime in November, dozens of vendors set up shop in the Lincoln Square parking lot in downtown Urbana. They primarily sell local produce (including corn, tomatoes, lettuce, and watermelons), but one can also find local crafts, music, kettle corn, and booths for various community and political organizations.
Urbana Sweetcorn Festival The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival was an annual festival in Urbana, first held in August 1975 in the Busey Bank parking lot in downtown Urbana. It was a community event put on by employees of Busey Bank. Since then, the Sweetcorn Festival continued to grow. The Urbana Business Association was responsible for the planning of the festival, over the years adding a local car show, an expanded family area, live music on multiple stages, food, vendors, beer, in the heart of downtown Urbana.
In addition to corn and beverages, the festival offered a range of activities and events, including a display of antique and other collectors' cars and volksmarches, arts events, a dog show, and a book sale organized by the Friends of the Urbana Free Library.
In 2021, The Urbana Business Association closed due to COVID-19 and a lack of funding. The last Urbana Sweetcorn Festival was held in 2019, and currently no plans have been made for the city or another organization to plan the festival in future years.
Urbana Lincoln Hotel The Urbana Lincoln Hotel is connected to Lincoln Square Mall, an indoor walking mall, in the center of Urbana. The hotel was designed by famed Urbana architect Joseph Royer in 1923 and opened several rooms on November 1, 1923, to accommodate guests for the university's homecoming game. The original building was built in the Tudor Revival style. A convention center was added in the 1970s in the Bavarian style. While being forced to close twice between 1990 and 2009, the hotel was purchased by a private developer in 2010 and underwent major rehabilitation. The hotel opened under new management and with a new name, Urbana Landmark Hotel, on December 1, 2012, but it closed in July 2015 and sold January 2020 for redevelopment as a Hilton Tapestry hotel.
Points of interest American Football House University of Illinois Arboretum University of Illinois Conservatory and Plant Collection Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Spurlock Museum Station Theatre
Parks and recreation
Carle Park, established in 1909, is located at Indiana and Garfield, just west of Urbana High School in central Urbana. Measuring , it contains a statue entitled Lincoln the Lawyer by Lorado Taft and more than 50 well-established trees that are part of the Hickman Tree Walk. The Lincoln statue was previously sited in front of the Urbana Lincoln Hotel, but was moved after only a few months.
Meadowbrook Park is located southeast of the Race Street and Windsor Road intersection. The park covers , including 80 of recreated Illinois tallgrass prairie. The area on which the park is currently located was formerly a farm, which was acquired by the Park District in 1967. Beginning in 1977, areas of the property underwent ecological restoration to tallgrass prairie, wetland, floodplains, and woods. There are more than 3 miles of paved and 2 miles of unpaved trails through the park and its restored natural areas. Several small hills make the path unsuitable for inexperienced inline skaters. The path is adorned with about 20 large sculptures from local artists. A playground, shelter, and parking lot are located near the Windsor Road entrance. A community garden, an herbal garden, the Timpone Ornamental Tree Grove, and a shelter are located near the Race Street entrance. The park also contains many streams, which are among the first tributaries of the Embarras River.
In 2011, the Urbana Park District contracted with John White to survey the vascular flora of Meadowbrook Park. This survey found 608 species of plants growing in the park, 371 of those being native to the East-Central Illinois region, including some rare and sensitive species. Among those were 59 species of invasive plants; White noted that there were severe infestations of Amur Honeysuckle, Reed Canary Grass, and the native forb Tall Goldenrod. These invasive species are still being managed by the Urbana Park District in collaboration with members of the public, in the form of volunteer environmental stewardship programs. Employees of the Urbana Park District also conduct controlled burns in Meadowbrook Park.