Community Profile

The Town of Normal is a growing university community located in Central Illinois. Residents enjoy a premier educational system, exceptional recreational amenities and a diverse set of employers. To learn more about the history of Normal please click here.

A Snapshot of Normal

• Population: 50,519 (Historical Population Data [JPG])
• Area: 17.04 square miles
• Public Schools: McLean County Unit #5 School District: 2 high schools, 3 junior high schools and 15 elementary schools.
• Parochial Schools: 2 high schools and 2 elementary schools
• Illinois State University Laboratory Schools: 1 high school and 1 elementary school
• Colleges and Universities: Illinois State University, Heartland Community College and Lincoln College.
• Legislative Districts:
  • Congressional Districts: 15th and 11th (Find your congressional district)
  • State Senate Districts: 44th and 53rd
  • State Representative Districts: 88th and 106th
  • Find your state districts and elected officials
• Average Monthly Temperature and Precipitation:
  • January: 22 degrees, 1.73 inches
  • April: 51 degrees, 3.83 inches
  • July: 75 degrees, 3.95 inches
  • October: 54 degrees, 2.71 inches

For detailed demographic information view the Economic Development Council’s 2006 Demographic Profile. The United States Census Bureau also serves as a source for detailed demographic information.

Interesting facts about Normal Town Government:

• Town of Normal
  • Area: 17.04 square miles
  • Miles of streets: 157 miles
  • Number of street lights: 2,897
• Fire protection:
  • Number of stations: 3
  • Number of firefighters and E.M.T.'s: 60
• Police protection:
  • Number of stations: 1
  • Number of substations: 2
  • Number of commissioned officers: 76
• Municipal water department:
  • Number of consumers: 15,722
  • Average daily consumption: 4,500,000 gallons
  • Maximum available daily supply: 7,190,000 gallons
  • Watermains: 180 miles
• Sewers:
  • Sanitary sewers: 160 miles
  • Storm sewers 96 miles
• Recreation and culture:
  • Number of parks: 18 (370 acres)
  • Number of golf courses: 1 (300 acres)
  • Number of libraries: 1
  • Number of volumes in Library: 153,000

Do You Know the Cost of ... ?

One Police Officer, 24 Hours a Day: $414,480.
For a taxpayer who owns a home valued at $150,000, the cost of one police officer, 24 hours a day would be $33.74 per year.

One Firefighter/EMT, 24 Hours a Day: $348,255.
For a taxpayer who owns a home valued at $150,000, the cost of one firefighter/EMT, 24 hours a day would be $28.35 per year.

One Rescue Vehicle
Vehicle $120,000
Equipment $45,410
Total cost $165,410

Fire Trucks:

One 1250 gallon/minute pumper:
Truck $261,000
Equipment $41,000
Total Cost $302,000

One 100 foot aerial ladder:
Truck $775,000
Equipment $43,000
Total Cost $818,000

Street Sweeper - $160,000
Major streets are swept twice a month
All others are swept eight times a year

Garbage Truck - $205,000
The Town has 9,954 residential garbage stops as well as stops at Town facilities and in Uptown Normal. The Town owns 10 garbage trucks

Dump Truck - $101,000 Tandem Axle Truck
The Town owns 12 dump trucks

Cost to Remove 6 Inches of Snow from Streets - $46,500

Backhoe - $105,000
The Town owns 7 backhoes

The Town has 2,897 Street Lights: Annual Cost - $242,000

It Costs $188,500 to Completely Signalize a Four-way Street Intersection

Did You Know?

• Normal was home to the first Steak 'n Shake Restaurant in the world. It was located at Main and Virginia streets, south of Illinois State University and north of Illinois Wesleyan University. But because the building was in a flood plain, the company opted to close the restaurant at that location in 1999. A new restaurant to replace it was built near Main Street and Raab Road.
• ISU educated, among others, actors John Malkovich, Gary Cole ("The Brady Bunch movie"), Sean Hayes ("Will and Grace") and actresses Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne"), Judith Ivey ("The Five Mrs. Buchanans", "Designing Women").
• Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc., is one of the most technologically advanced automotive manufacturing facilities in the world and has a production capacity of 240,000 vehicles annually. It is designed to accommodate several different models intermixed on one assembly line.
• McLean County produced two ambassadors to the United Nations - Adlai Stevenson II and ISU grad Donald McHenry.
• Stand on the top floor of ISU's Watterson Towers and you are at the highest point in Illinois between Chicago and St. Louis.
• The president of Major League Baseball's American League is Gene Budig, an ex-ISU president.
• Although not widely known, ISU was founded 10 years before the University of Illinois and is the oldest public university in Illinois.
• Illinois State used to field teams nicknamed the Cardinals, but a Pantagraph newspaper sports editor changed the nickname to Redbirds so collegiate teams would not be confused in headlines with the St. Louis Cardinals.
• The farmland around Bloomington-Normal ranks among the top three areas in all the world for corn and soybean production. Ironically, the Twin Cities have seven streets named after fruits (Cherry, Apple, Bayberry, etc.) but none after vegetables.

This page last modified 05/05/08.