Welcome to Normal ...
The town of Normal is located in McLean County<1>.
The pronunciation of Normal: NOR-muhl<2>
Normal was founded in February 1865 and was incorporated February 25, 1867.
When the people of Normal refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Normalite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Normal has a population of 54,399 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Normal is 820 feet [250 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Normal lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Normal is within the boundaries of the (309) area code.
The ZIP codes for Normal: 61761, 61790<6>
Going back to its beginning, Normal was originally named North Bloomington. For more information about the names of Normal, see The Names of Normal on our Genealogy Page.
Websites for Normal ...
Official Website: www.normal.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.mcleancochamber.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Normal had an population of 54,399 people. This is an increase of 3.62% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 19.86% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Normal had a population of 52,497 people (which is 30.96% of the total population of McLean County). This makes Normal the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Normal represents 0.41% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 27th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 52,497 people, the population of Normal increased 15.67% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 45,386 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Normal.
Communities Also Named Normal ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 7 communities that are also named Normal - they are located in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky (2), Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Normal.
Communities near Normal ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Normal.
- Le Roy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <8>
- Heyworth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heyworth have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heyworth
- Heyworth is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,869 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heyworth <8>
- El Paso
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Paso have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Paso
- El Paso is located in Woodford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,700 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Paso <8>
- Lexington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lexington have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
- Lexington is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,020 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lexington <8>
- Mackinaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinaw
- Mackinaw is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Former name for Mackinaw:
- Mackinawtown
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mackinaw <8>
- Hudson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Hudson is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <8>
- Gridley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gridley have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gridley
- Gridley is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,392 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gridley <8>
- Minier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minier
- Minier is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,180 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minier <8>
- Danvers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danvers have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
- Danvers is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- Danvers has also been known as:
- Danver
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <8>
- Colfax
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colfax have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Colfax is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,009 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colfax <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Normal. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Normal.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Normal. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Normal.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Normal. Our list includes 15 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Normal.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Normal ...
Looking for more information about Normal? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Normal, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Normal.
Adding Normal to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Normal in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Normal was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Normal post office opened in 1861.
We also found Normal on a map (with an unknown title) dated 1870.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Normal.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Normal: www.normal.org/
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including McLean, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Normal. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Normal refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a town's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Normal may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Normal. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Normal - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Normal). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Normal or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |