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Welcome to Kankakee ...

The city of Kankakee is located in Kankakee County<1> and is the County Seat for Kankakee County.



The pronunciation of Kankakee: kang-kuh-KEE<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Kankakee, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1866.

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

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Kankakee has a population of 25,962 people<4> (see below for details).

Kankakee is 620 feet [189 m] above sea level.<5>.

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

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

Area codes for Kankakee: (815) & (779)<6>

The ZIP codes for Kankakee: 60901-60902<7>

Websites for Kankakee ...

Official Website:   www.ci.kankakee.il.us/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.kankakee.org/

Junior League:   www.jlkankakee.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Kankakee had an population of 25,962 people. This is a decrease of 5.72% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.56% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Kankakee had a population of 27,537 people (which is 24.28% of the total population of Kankakee County). This makes Kankakee the county's most populous community.

The population of Kankakee represents 0.21% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 77th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 27,537 people, the population of Kankakee has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 27,491 people).

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

Communities Also Named Kankakee ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Kankakee - it's located in Indiana.

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

Communities near Kankakee ...

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

  • Manteno
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manteno have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno
    • Manteno is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,892 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manteno <9>
  • Wilmington
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
    • Wilmington is located in Will County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
  • Beecher
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Peotone
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Momence
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Momence have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Momence
    • Momence is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,049 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Momence <9>
  • Herscher
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Clifton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Grant Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Park have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Park
    • Grant Park is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
  • Saint Anne
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anne have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anne
    • Saint Anne is located in Kankakee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,174 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Anne <9>
  • Chebanse
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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

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

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Kankakee. Our list includes 25 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Kankakee.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Kankakee ...

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

Adding Kankakee to Our Gazetteer ...

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

From that list, the Kankakee post office opened in 1866.

We also found Kankakee on a map (with an unknown title) dated 1870.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Kankakee.

The official website for Kankakee: www.ci.kankakee.il.us/

The official website for Kankakee County: www.co.kankakee.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 Kankakee, 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 Kankakee. 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee.
<5>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Kankakee - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<6>Area code (779) is an overlay for area code (815).
<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 Kankakee). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Kankakee or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Kankakee includes: 60901 & 60902.
<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: 19 Sep 2024