Welcome to Decatur ...
The village of Decatur is located in Van Buren County<1>.
The location of Decatur has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Decatur, you might consider that their post office opened in 1846.
When the people of Decatur refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Decaturian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Decatur has a population of 1,729 people<4> (see below for details).
Decatur is 780 feet [238 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Decatur lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Decatur is within the boundaries of the (269) area code.
The ZIP code for Decatur: 49045<6>
Websites for Decatur ...
Official Website: www.decaturmi.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Decatur had an population of 1,729 people. This is a decrease of 4.95% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.93% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Decatur had a population of 1,819 people. This makes Decatur the county's 7th most populous community.
The population of Decatur represents 0.02% of the total population of Michigan (which has 9,883,640 people), making it the state's 269th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,819 people, the population of Decatur decreased 1.03% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,838 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Decatur.
Communities Also Named Decatur ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 20 communities that are also named Decatur - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Decatur.
Communities near Decatur ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Decatur.
- Dowagiac
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowagiac
- Dowagiac is located in Cass County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,565 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dowagiac <7>
- Paw Paw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Paw
- Paw Paw is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,344 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paw Paw <7>
- Hartford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Hartford is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,572 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <7>
- Mattawan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattawan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawan
- Mattawan is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,973 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mattawan <7>
- Bangor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Bangor is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <7>
- Lawton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
- Lawton is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <7>
- Cassopolis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassopolis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassopolis
- Cassopolis is located in Cass County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cassopolis <7>
- Watervliet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watervliet
- Watervliet is located in Berrien County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,635 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watervliet <7>
- Schoolcraft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoolcraft
- Schoolcraft is located in Kalamazoo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,548 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schoolcraft <7>
- Coloma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Coloma is located in Berrien County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,402 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coloma <7>
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 Decatur. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Decatur.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Decatur. 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 Decatur.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur. Our list includes 8 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Decatur.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Decatur ...
Looking for more information about Decatur? 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 Decatur, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Decatur.
Adding Decatur to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Decatur 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 Decatur was on a map titled Road Map for Michigan (from Shell Oil, 1956).
We also found Decatur in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Decatur.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Decatur: www.decaturmi.org/
The official website for Van Buren County: www.vbco.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Van Buren, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Decatur refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a village's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Decatur 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 Decatur. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Decatur - 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 village (such as Decatur). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Decatur or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |