The two largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Illinois are Chicago to the north and St Louis to the south. But the composite area formed by the MSA's of Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Champaign, Decatur, and Springfield also form a significant metro area. The cost of doing business in our region is lower, housing is more affordable, and there are very few traffic delays. Small is beautiful.
MSA ______________Population_ Median Household
_____________________________ Income
Chicago–Gary–Kenosha_9,157,540___ __$51,046
St. Louis, MO–IL _____ 2,603,607 __ _ __44,437
Heartland Composite _ 1,056,543__ _ _ _ 42,103
1. Heartland Composite includes non MSA Counties
Bloomington–Normal____150,433_____ $47,021
Champaign–Urbana_____179,669______ 37,780
Decatur, IL___________ 114,706______ 37,859
Peoria–Pekin_________ 347,387______ 42,986
Springfield___________ 201,437______ 43,180
The link below shows the
Metropolitan Statistical Areas of Illinois.
http://www.illinoisatlas.com/illinois/basemaps/pdf/il_msa_cx.pdf
The blog below shows a larger Heartland including Danville and the Quad Cities, with about 1,700,000 people.