Welcome to Centralia ...
The city of Centralia is primarily located in Clinton County<1>. A portion of Centralia extends into Jefferson County, Marion County and Washington County.
The pronunciation of Centralia: sen-TRAYL-yuh<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Centralia, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was on a map dated 1881.
When the people of Centralia refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Centralian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Centralia has a population of 12,231 people<4> (see below for details).
Centralia is 500 feet [152 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Centralia lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Centralia is located in the (618) area code.
The ZIP code for Centralia: 62801<6>
Websites for Centralia ...
Official Website: www.city.centralia.il.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.centraliail.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Centralia had an population of 12,231 people. This is a decrease of 6.15% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 13.48% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Centralia had a population of 13,032 people (which is 34.51% of the total population of Clinton County). This makes Centralia the county's most populous community.
The population of Centralia represents 0.1% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 185th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 13,032 people, the population of Centralia decreased 7.81% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 14,136 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Centralia.
Communities Also Named Centralia ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Illinois communities named Centralia: This one is located in Clinton County and the other is located in Marion County.
Beyond Illinois, there are 17 communities that are also named Centralia - they are located in California, Florida (2), Iowa, Kansas (2), Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Centralia.
Communities near Centralia ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Centralia.
- Mount Vernon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Mount Vernon is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,511 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Vernon <7>
- Salem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Salem is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,952 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <7>
- Carlyle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlyle have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyle
- Carlyle is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,148 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlyle <7>
- Nashville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Nashville is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,984 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <7>
- Odin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Odin is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,004 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odin <7>
- Beckemeyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beckemeyer have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckemeyer
- Beckemeyer is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beckemeyer <7>
- Woodlawn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Woodlawn is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 670 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodlawn <7>
- Irvington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irvington have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Irvington is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 609 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irvington <7>
- Bartelso
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartelso have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartelso
- Bartelso is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bartelso <7>
- Patoka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoka
- Patoka is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Patoka <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 Centralia. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Centralia.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Centralia. 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 Centralia.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Centralia. See our Newspapers Page for Centralia.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Centralia ...
Looking for more information about Centralia? 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 Centralia, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Centralia.
Adding Centralia to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Centralia 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 Centralia was on a map titled Rand McNally Map (1881).
We also found Centralia in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Centralia.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Centralia: www.city.centralia.il.us/
The official website for Clinton County: www.clintonco.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Clinton, 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 Centralia. 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 Centralia 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 Centralia 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 Centralia. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Centralia - 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 city (such as Centralia). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Centralia 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. |
| <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. |