Champaign is a city located in Champaign County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 67,518. The mayor is Gerald Schweighart, whose term will expire in 2007. The city is notable for sharing the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with its twin city of Urbana.
Champaign is located at 40°6'47"N, 88°15'40"W (40.112981, -88.261227).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.1 km2 (17.0 mi2). 44.0 km2 (17.0 mi2) of it is land and 0.1 km2 (0.04 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 0.12% water.
Champaign shares a border with the neighboring city of Urbana; together the two cities are often referred to as Urbana-Champaign, Champaign-Urbana, or Chambana and are often referred to locally as the "Twin Cities". The two cities are the site of the largest campus of the University of Illinois. Champaign, Urbana, and the bordering village of Savoy form the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area.
As of the census of 2000, there are 67,518 people, 27,071 households, and 12,452 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,534.4/km2 (3,974.6/mi2). There are 28,556 housing units at an average density of 648.9/km2 (1,681.0/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 73.16% White, 15.62% African American, 0.24% Native American, 6.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.94% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. 4.03% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 27,071 households out of which 22.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% are married couples living together, 9.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 36.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.23 and the average family size is 2.95.
In the city the population is spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 31.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 25 years. For every 100 females there are 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,795, and the median income for a family is $52,628. Males have a median income of $36,574 versus $27,186 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,664. 22.1% of the population and 8.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.0% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
In addition to the University of Illinois, Champaign is also home to Parkland College. A Kraft Foods plant (and adjacent AC Humko plant) and Herff-Jones (formerly the Collegiate Cap and Gown) form part of the city's industrial base.
The city also features a large technology and software industry mostly focusing around research and development of new technologies. The Research Park, located in southern Champaign and backed by the University of Illinois, is home to many companies including iCyt (a biotechnology company), the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois State Geological Survey, Motorola, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Phonak, Power World, and Science Applications International Corporation. Numerous other software and technology companies also have offices in Champaign including Wolfram Research, Sun Microsystems, Intel, IBM, Amdocs, and Volition; and the University of Illinois is the alma mater of Founder and former CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) W. J. (Jerry) Sanders, graduated from the U of I's Electrical Engineering Department (now Electrical and Computer Engineering Department) in 1958. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign.
Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its track two miles west of downtown Urbana. Originally called "West Urbana," it was renamed Champaign when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, Ohio.
Source:
ChampaignIllinois.com
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