University of Illinois system
The area has a population of 344,440 as determined by the 2010 U.S. Census. The area is anchored by the principal cities of Champaign and Decatur and is home to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system. (University students, even those from outside the area, are included in Census figures if they were counted by the federal Census).