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The Commemorative Quarter for Alabama





Welcome to Decatur ...

The city of Decatur is primarily located in Morgan County<1> and is the County Seat for Morgan County. A portion of Decatur extends into Limestone County.

The pronunciation of Decatur: dee-KAY-ter<2>

Decatur was established in 1821.

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 54,403 people<4> (see below for details).

The community of Decatur is 590 feet [180 m] above sea level.<5>.

Time Zone: Decatur lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Decatur: 256 & 938<6>

The ZIP codes for Decatur: 35601-35603, 35609, 35699<7>

In the past, Decatur was named Albany. and New Decatur. For more information about the names of Decatur, see The Names of Decatur on our Genealogy Page.

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Decatur had an population of 54,403 people. This is a decrease of 2.3% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.88% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Decatur had a population of 55,683 people (or 46.55% of the total population of Morgan County). This makes Decatur the county's most populous community.

The population of Decatur represents 1.16% of the population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 8th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 55,683 people, the population of Decatur increased 3.25% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 53,929 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 Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Decatur.

Websites for Decatur ...

Official Website:   www.digitaldecatur.com/

Junior League:   www.jlmorgancounty.com/

Communities near Decatur ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Decatur.

  • Madison
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
    • Madison is located in Madison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 52,654 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison <9>
  • Athens
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Hartselle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Priceville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Moulton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Triana
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Triana have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
    • Triana is located in Madison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
  • Falkville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Somerville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • North Courtland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Courtland have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
    • North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
  • Courtland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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 14 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 in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

We also found Decatur in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Decatur.

The official website for Decatur: www.digitaldecatur.com/

The official website for Morgan County: www.co.morgan.al.us/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Morgan, 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 Decatur. 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 Decatur refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city'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>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 256 code has been Overlayed with the 938 area code. New phone numbers in the Decatur area will be assigned with one of these codes: 256 or 938. As a result, placing a call in the Decatur area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<7>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 city (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).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Decatur includes: 35601, 35602, 35609 & 35699.
<8>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.
<9>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<10>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 18 Apr 2025