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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Illinois





Welcome to Chicago ...

The city of Chicago is primarily located in Cook County<1> and is the County Seat for Cook County. A portion of Chicago extends into DuPage County.

The pronunciation of Chicago: shi-KAW-goh<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Chicago, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1831.

The city was incorporated March 4, 1837.

When the people of Chicago refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Chicagoan<3>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Chicago has a population of 2,691,497 people<4> (see below for details).

Chicago is 590 feet [180 m] above sea level.<5>.

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

Note: If you travel east from Chicago (for example, toward New Carlisle (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Area Codes for Chicago: 312, 872<6>

The ZIP codes for Chicago: 60601-60626, 60628-60634, 60636-60641, 60643-60647, 60649, 60651-60657, 60659-60661, 60663-60665, 60667-60675, 60677-60681, 60683-60685, 60687, 60690-60691, 60693-60694, 60697, 60699, 60701<7>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Chicago had an population of 2,691,497 people. This is a decrease of 0.15% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 7.06% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Chicago had a population of 2,695,598 people (or 51.85% of the total population of Cook County). This makes Chicago the county's most populous community.

The population of Chicago represents 21.01% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 2,695,598 people, the population of Chicago decreased 6.92% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,896,016 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Chicago.

Communities Also Named Chicago ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 9 communities that are also named Chicago - they are located in California, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

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

Websites for Chicago ...

Official Website:   www.cityofchicago.org/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.chicagolandchamber.org/

Junior League:   www.jlchicago.org/

Communities near Chicago ...

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

  • Cicero
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cicero have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicero
    • Cicero is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 79,727 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cicero <9>
  • Evanston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Skokie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skokie have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokie
    • Skokie is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 62,404 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Skokie <9>
  • Des Plaines
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Des Plaines have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Des Plaines
    • Des Plaines is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,179 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Des Plaines <9>
  • Oak Lawn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lawn
    • Oak Lawn is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,376 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Lawn <9>
  • Berwyn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Oak Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Downers Grove
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Glenview
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Elmhurst
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmhurst
    • Elmhurst is located in DuPage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 46,532 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmhurst <9>

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 Chicago. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Chicago.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Chicago. 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 Chicago.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Chicago. Our list includes 1,504 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Chicago.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Chicago ...

Looking for more information about Chicago? 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 Chicago, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Chicago.

Adding Chicago to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Chicago 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 Chicago was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<10>

X2X - From that list, the Chicago post office opened in 1831.

We also found Chicago in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Chicago.

The official website for Chicago: www.cityofchicago.org/

The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Cook, 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 Chicago. 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 Chicago 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 Chicago 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 Chicago.
<5>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Chicago - 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 312 code has been Overlayed with the 872 area code. New phone numbers in the Chicago area will be assigned with one of these codes: 312, 872. As a result, placing a call in the Chicago 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 Chicago). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Chicago or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Chicago includes: 60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, 60605, 60606, 60607, 60608, 60609, 60610, 60611, 60612, 60613, 60614, 60615, 60616, 60617, 60618, 60619, 60620, 60621, 60622, 60623, 60624, 60625, 60628, 60629, 60630, 60631, 60632, 60633, 60636, 60637, 60638, 60639, 60640, 60643, 60644, 60645, 60646, 60649, 60651, 60652, 60653, 60654, 60655, 60656, 60659, 60660, 60663, 60664, 60667, 60668, 60669, 60670, 60671, 60672, 60673, 60674, 60677, 60678, 60679, 60680, 60683, 60684, 60687, 60690, 60693, 60697, 60699 & 60701.
<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>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025