Welcome to Elgin ...
The city of Elgin is primarily located in Kane County<1>. A portion of Elgin extends into Cook County.
The pronunciation of Elgin: EL-jin<2>
Elgin was established in 1836.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Elgin has a population of 110,785 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Elgin is 800 feet [244 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Elgin lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Elgin: (847) and (224)<5>
The ZIP codes for Elgin: 60120-60123<6>
Websites for Elgin ...
Official Website: www.cityofelgin.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.elginchamber.com/
Junior League: www.jlkd.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Elgin had an population of 110,785 people. This is an increase of 2.4% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 17.25% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Elgin had a population of 108,188 people (or 20.96% of the total population of Kane County). This makes Elgin the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Elgin represents 0.84% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 8th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 108,188 people, the population of Elgin increased 14.5% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 94,487 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Elgin.
Communities Also Named Elgin ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 39 communities that are also named Elgin - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona (2), Arkansas, British Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas (2), Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New York, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma (2), Ontario (2), Oregon, Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina (2), Tennessee, Texas, Utah (2), Virginia and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elgin.
Communities near Elgin ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Elgin.
- Aurora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Aurora is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196,383 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <7>
- Naperville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naperville
- Naperville is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147,986 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Naperville <7>
- Arlington Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
- Arlington Heights is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington Heights <7>
- Schaumburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schaumburg have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schaumburg
- Schaumburg is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72,049 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schaumburg <7>
- Palatine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palatine have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palatine
- Palatine is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66,830 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palatine <7>
- Des Plaines
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- 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 <7>
- Mount Prospect
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Prospect have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Prospect
- Mount Prospect is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,299 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Prospect <7>
- Wheaton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheaton
- Wheaton is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52,451 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheaton <7>
- Hoffman Estates
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoffman Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman Estates
- Hoffman Estates is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoffman Estates <7>
- Lombard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lombard have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
- Lombard is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43,961 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lombard <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 Elgin. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Elgin.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Elgin. 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 Elgin.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Elgin. Our list includes 51 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Elgin.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Elgin ...
Looking for more information about Elgin? 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 Elgin, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Elgin.
Adding Elgin to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Elgin 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 Elgin was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Elgin post office opened in 1837.
We also found Elgin in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Elgin.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Elgin: www.cityofelgin.org/
The official website for Kane County: www.co.kane.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 Kane, 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 Elgin. 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> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Elgin. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Elgin - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (224) is an overlay for area code (847). |
| <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 Elgin). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Elgin or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Elgin includes: 60120, 60121, 60122 & 60123. |
| <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. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |