Balcony view of a band on stage and crowd of people in Castle Theatre.
Two girls walking over a wooden bridge surrounded by yellow, fall leaves.
Two men performing on stage with a crowd in raised seating watching the scene.
Man and woman looking at vegetables in a farmers market stand.
Crowd view from behind home plate of a baseball game.

Live music in Castle Theatre

Constitution Trail

Illinois Shakespeare Festival in the Theatre at Ewing

Downtown Bloomington Farmers' Market

Normal CornBelters Baseball

About

This is Bloomington-Normal

We love our hometown, and so will you.

Close to Everything

Our campus is in Normal, just a short drive from Chicago and St. Louis. Uptown Normal’s Amtrak station and Bloomington’s airport put us within a few hours of most major U.S. cities.

Distance map
Map of Midwest region of United States showing how far (measured in hours) Bloomington-Normal is from other major cities. Chicago, Illinois, 2 hours; St. Louis, Missouri, 2.5 hours; Indianapolis, Indiana, 3 hours; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 3.5 hours; Des Moines, Iowa, 4.5 hours; Louisville, Kentucky, 4.5 hours; and Detroit, Michigan, 5.5 hours.

Bloomington-Normal Quick Facts

Things to Do

Living in B-N

Uptown Normal

Our campus is steps away from locally owned shops, restaurants, and hotels in this thriving central business district.

Why is it called Normal?

Our hometown got its name from “Illinois State Normal University,” our old moniker. Back then, we were a teachers’ college and “normal” meant teaching.

Top Local Employers

Our students can intern at several large companies headquartered in Bloomington-Normal or nearby.

  1. State Farm Insurance Co.*
  2. Illinois State University
  3. Rivian Electric Vehicles
  4. COUNTRY Financial*
  5. Unit 5 Schools
  6. OSF HealthCare
  7. Carle BroMenn Healthcare
  8. McLean County Government
  9. Afni, Inc.*
  10. District 87 Schools

*Headquartered in Bloomington-Normal

Economic Engine

Researchers find that spending by Illinois State and its employees and students directly contributes more than $550 million to the local economy.

Other Resources