Business Advantage

McLean County has a culture and history of cooperation between government, education, business and labor to achieve community goals. This cooperation makes Bloomington-Normal business friendly and business focused.

Bloomington-Normal, located in Central Illinois, is just a couple hours south of Chicago. It boasts one of the youngest, most educated and talented workforces in the Midwest.

• Centrally located and rich with resources.
• Accessible transportation by nearly every means and reliable business resources like natural gas and water make Bloomington-Normal and easy place to do business.
• Bloomington-Normal is in the center of this region and has the transportation infrastructure to provide distribution of goods and services, and easy access to workforce.
  • Bloomington-Normal is located at the intersection of Interstates 39, 55 and 74
  • US highways 51 and 150 run through Bloomington, as well as Illinois state route 9
  • Connect Transit, Bloomington-Normal’s public transit system operates the local mass transit transportation service
  • Travel by air – Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority
  • Travel by train – Amtrak service
  • 2 Class 1 railroads serve large customers and numerous grain and service providers for agriculture
  • High-speed rail service between Chicago and St. Louis with scheduled stops in B/N.
• Home to four higher education institutions, Bloomington-Normal has a consistent pipeline of young and educated professionals, ready for the workforce. Low cost of living and high quality of life aspects continue to make Bloomington-Normal one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Illinois.
  • Illinois State University
  • Illinois Wesleyan University
  • Heartland Community College
  • The Normal campus of Lincoln College
• Bloomington-Normal boasts an affordable business environment. There are many cost advantages to doing business in Central Illinois.
  • Average property tax rate of $7.80 per $100 of Equalized Assessed Valuation. Assessed Valuation is one-third market value.
  • 8.75% combined state and local sales tax, some exceptions.
    •  Sales tax on groceries and drugs is 1%.
    • Sales tax on all licensed vehicles is 6.25%.
  • On January 1, 2015, the Illinois corporate income tax rate was reduced from 7% to 5.25%. The corporate replacement tax remains at 2.5% for a total corporate rate of 7.75%
  • No personal property tax
  • State minimum wage is $8.25 per hour
  • Available incentives and financing options
  • Enterprise zone