Normal is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 52,838 people and 13 associated neighborhoods, Normal is the 28th largest community in Illinois.Normal is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.95% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Normal is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Normal who work in sales jobs (12.74%), office and administrative support (9.73%), and business and financial occupations (8.71%). Also of interest is that Normal has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.49% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Normal is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Normal culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Normal really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Normal every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Normal. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Normal benefits directly from this. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Normal spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.80 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.If knowledge is power, Normal is a pretty powerful place. 53.88% of the adults in Normal have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Normal in 2022 was $34,466, which is middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $137,864 for a family of four. However, Normal contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Normal is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Normal home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Normal residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Normal include German, Irish, English, Polish, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Normal is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
