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Welcome to Gurnee ...

The village of Gurnee is located in Lake County<1>.

The pronunciation of Gurnee: guhr-NEE<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Gurnee, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1874.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Gurnee has a population of 30,390 people<3> (see below for details).

Gurnee is 700 feet [213 m] above sea level.<4>.

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

Area Codes for Gurnee: 847 & 224<5>

The ZIP code for Gurnee: 60031<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Gurnee had an population of 30,390 people. This is a decrease of 2.89% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 5.4% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Gurnee had a population of 31,295 people. This makes Gurnee the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Gurnee represents 0.24% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 62nd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 31,295 people, the population of Gurnee increased 8.54% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 28,834 people).

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

Communities Also Named Gurnee ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Gurnee - they are located in Alabama and Pennsylvania.

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

Websites for Gurnee ...

Official Website: www.gurnee.il.us/

Communities near Gurnee ...

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

  • Kenosha
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Arlington Heights
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Palatine
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Buffalo Grove
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
    • Buffalo Grove is located in Lake County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,161 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo Grove <7>
  • Wheeling
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeling have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeling
    • Wheeling is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,958 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheeling <7>
  • Northbrook
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northbrook
    • Northbrook is located in Cook County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 32,657 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northbrook <7>
  • Mundelein
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mundelein have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mundelein
    • Mundelein is located in Lake County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,945 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mundelein <7>
  • Highland Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • McHenry
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McHenry have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHenry
    • McHenry is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,100 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McHenry <7>
  • Round Lake Beach
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Lake Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Lake Beach
    • Round Lake Beach is located in Lake County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,919 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Round Lake Beach <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 Gurnee. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Gurnee.

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

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Gurnee. See our Newspapers Page for Gurnee.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Gurnee ...

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

Adding Gurnee to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Gurnee 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 Gurnee was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Gurnee post office opened in 1874.

We also found Gurnee in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Gurnee.

The official website for Gurnee: www.gurnee.il.us/

The official website for Lake County: www.co.lake.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 Lake, 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 Gurnee. 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 Gurnee.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Gurnee - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>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 847 code has been Overlayed with the 224 area code. New phone numbers in the Gurnee area will be assigned with one of these codes: 847 or 224. As a result, placing a call in the Gurnee area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<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 village (such as Gurnee). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Gurnee 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.
<9>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: 23 Jul 2025