Rantoul is a village in northern Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,371 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
Rantoul, Illinois
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Downtown Rantoul
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Location of Rantoul in Champaign County, Illinois.
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  Rantoul Location within Champaign County Show map of Champaign County, Illinois Rantoul Rantoul (Illinois) Show map of Illinois | |
| Coordinates: 40°17′50″N 88°08′17″W / 40.29722°N 88.13806°W / 40.29722; -88.13806[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Champaign |
| Townships | Rantoul and Ludlow |
| Founded | March 4, 1854 |
| Government | |
| • Village President | Charles Smith[citation needed] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.59 sq mi (22.26 km2) |
| • Land | 8.49 sq mi (21.99 km2) |
| • Water | 0.10 sq mi (0.27 km2) |
| Elevation | 745 ft (227 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 12,371 |
| • Density | 1,457.13/sq mi (562.58/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
61866[3]
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| Area codes | 217, 447 |
| FIPS code | 17-62783 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2399042[1] |
| Website | www |
The community was named after Robert Rantoul, Jr., a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and a director of the Illinois Central Railroad.[4][5]
Rantoul was laid out in 1854 for the Illinois Central Railroad by John Penfield. A post office was established in 1856 as Rantoul Station; the name was changed to Rantoul in May 1862.[4]
In 1917, Rantoul was chosen by the United States Army to be the site of Chanute Field,[6] due to its proximity to the Illinois Central railroad and the War Department's ground school at the University of Illinois. In the 1930s, Chanute Field grew, dominating the local economy as thousands of airmen were stationed there to train recruits. Renamed Chanute Air Force Base after World War II, it was closed in 1993, but was partly reoccupied by the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, which was permanently closed on December 30, 2015, and the Rantoul National Aviation Center. Rantoul's economy has taken a sharp decline due to the base's closing, from which it has never recovered. The book Eye of the Storm: Chanute Closes by Katy B. Podagrosi tells the story of this period.
Rantoul Family Sports Complex opened in August 2021 as a premier amateur sports facility featuring 10 all weather baseball / softball and 8 all weather multi-purpose fields. The complex plays host to thousands of amateur teams for tournament and local play. It also serves as home field for the University of Illinois "Fighting Illini" men's lacrosse team.[citation needed]
In 2022 the Rantoul Family Sports Complex was visited by nearly 1 million people, resulting in 7.5 million dollars in visitor spending in Champaign County.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Rantoul has a total area of 8.59 square miles (22.25 km2), of which 8.49 square miles (21.99 km2) (or 98.79%) is land and 0.10 square miles (0.26 km2) (or 1.21%) is water.[7]
| Climate data for Rantoul, Illinois (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1965–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 68 (20) |
72 (22) |
86 (30) |
90 (32) |
99 (37) |
104 (40) |
105 (41) |
102 (39) |
101 (38) |
93 (34) |
82 (28) |
72 (22) |
105 (41) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.4 (1.3) |
39.6 (4.2) |
51.4 (10.8) |
64.3 (17.9) |
75.4 (24.1) |
84.9 (29.4) |
87.5 (30.8) |
85.9 (29.9) |
80.7 (27.1) |
67.3 (19.6) |
52.3 (11.3) |
39.8 (4.3) |
63.6 (17.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.1 (−3.8) |
29.6 (−1.3) |
40.4 (4.7) |
51.9 (11.1) |
63.3 (17.4) |
73.3 (22.9) |
75.8 (24.3) |
73.7 (23.2) |
67.5 (19.7) |
54.7 (12.6) |
41.8 (5.4) |
30.9 (−0.6) |
52.3 (11.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.8 (−9.0) |
19.6 (−6.9) |
29.3 (−1.5) |
39.6 (4.2) |
51.3 (10.7) |
61.7 (16.5) |
64.1 (17.8) |
61.6 (16.4) |
54.3 (12.4) |
42.1 (5.6) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
22.1 (−5.5) |
41.1 (5.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −27 (−33) |
−19 (−28) |
−13 (−25) |
10 (−12) |
26 (−3) |
38 (3) |
43 (6) |
38 (3) |
29 (−2) |
21 (−6) |
3 (−16) |
−22 (−30) |
−27 (−33) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.54 (65) |
2.01 (51) |
2.58 (66) |
3.98 (101) |
4.33 (110) |
4.61 (117) |
4.44 (113) |
3.86 (98) |
3.28 (83) |
3.32 (84) |
3.19 (81) |
2.21 (56) |
40.35 (1,025) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 8.2 | 7.1 | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 102.3 |
| Source: NOAA[8][9] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 850 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,074 | 26.4% | |
| 1900 | 1,207 | 12.4% | |
| 1910 | 1,384 | 14.7% | |
| 1920 | 1,551 | 12.1% | |
| 1930 | 1,555 | 0.3% | |
| 1940 | 2,367 | 52.2% | |
| 1950 | 6,387 | 169.8% | |
| 1960 | 22,116 | 246.3% | |
| 1970 | 25,562 | 15.6% | |
| 1980 | 20,161 | −21.1% | |
| 1990 | 17,212 | −14.6% | |
| 2000 | 12,857 | −25.3% | |
| 2010 | 12,941 | 0.7% | |
| 2020 | 12,371 | −4.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] | |||
As of the 2020 census[11] there were 12,371 people, 5,137 households, and 2,947 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,439.49 inhabitants per square mile (555.79/km2). There were 5,639 housing units at an average density of 656.16 per square mile (253.34/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 54.60% White, 22.50% African American, 0.61% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 10.16% from other races, and 10.86% from two or more races. HispanicorLatino of any race were 17.44% of the population.
There were 5,137 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.09% were married couples living together, 21.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.63% were non-families. 36.81% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.54% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 2.46.
The village's age distribution consisted of 29.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $41,837, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $36,630 versus $31,197 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,744. About 16.3% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Bus service in Rantoul is provided by Champaign County Area Rural Transit System (C-CARTS). C-CARTS operates four routes within Rantoul and one route connecting Rantoul to Champaign-Urbana.[12]
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Rantoul. Amtrak Train 391, the southbound Saluki, is scheduled to depart Rantoul at 11:10 am daily with service to Champaign-Urbana, Mattoon, Effingham, Centralia, Du Quoin, and Carbondale. Amtrak Train 393, the southbound Illini, is scheduled to depart Rantoul at 6:00 pm daily serving the same points as the southbound Saluki. Amtrak Train 390, the northbound Saluki, is scheduled to depart Rantoul at 10:27 am daily with service to Gilman, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago. Amtrak Train 887, the northbound Illini, is scheduled to depart Rantoul at 7:02 pm daily serving the same points as the northbound Saluki.[13]
