Welcome to Decatur ...
The city of Decatur is located in Macon County<1> and is the County Seat for Macon County.
Decatur was established in 1836.
When the people of Decatur refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Decaturian<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Decatur has a population of 70,734 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Decatur is 670 feet [204 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Decatur lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Decatur: (217)
The ZIP codes for Decatur: 62521-62526<5>
The Pronunciation of Decatur ..
We have heard more than one pronunciation for Decatur:<6>
dee-KAY-tur
dee-KAY-ter
Websites for Decatur ...
Official Website: www.ci.decatur.il.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.decaturchamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Decatur had an population of 70,734 people. This is a decrease of 7.08% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 13.59% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Decatur had a population of 76,122 people (or 68.72% of the total population of Macon County). This makes Decatur the county's most populous community.
The population of Decatur represents 0.59% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 76,122 people, the population of Decatur decreased 7.01% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 81,860 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, 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.
Communities near Decatur ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Decatur.
- Mount Zion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Zion have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Mount Zion is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,762 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Zion <8>
- Maroa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maroa
- Maroa is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,700 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maroa <8>
- Moweaqua
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moweaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moweaqua
- Moweaqua is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,684 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moweaqua <8>
- Cerro Gordo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerro Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
- Cerro Gordo is located in Piatt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cerro Gordo <8>
- Harristown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harristown have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
- Harristown is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harristown <8>
- Long Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Creek
- Long Creek is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
- Bethany
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethany have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Bethany is located in Moultrie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,210 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bethany <8>
- Warrensburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrensburg
- Warrensburg is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,112 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warrensburg <8>
- Macon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Macon is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,102 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macon <8>
- Blue Mound
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mound
- Blue Mound is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Mound <8>
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 80 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 document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Decatur post office opened in 1831.
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.ci.decatur.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 Macon, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Decatur. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Decatur - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | 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: 62521, 62522, 62523, 62524, 62525 & 62526. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |