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Welcome to Coles County ...

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

The community of Charleston is the Seat for Coles County.

Coles County was founded in 1830. Coles was created by taking area from Clark and Edgar Counties.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Coles had a population of 50,621 people. This is a decrease of 6.02% since the last Census (which gave a population of 53,866 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Coles represented 0.42% of the total population of Illinois.

Below are some of the communities located in Coles County:

  • Ashmore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashmore
    • Ashmore is located in Coles County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 740 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashmore <3>
  • Charleston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Humboldt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lerna
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lerna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lerna
    • Lerna is located in Coles County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 274 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lerna <3>
  • Mattoon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattoon
    • Mattoon is located in Coles County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,513 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mattoon <3>
  • Oakland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
 

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This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025