Welcome to Pekin ...
The city of Pekin is primarily located in Tazewell County<1> and is the County Seat for Tazewell County. A portion of Pekin extends into Peoria County.
The pronunciation of Pekin: PEE-kin<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Pekin, you might consider that their post office opened in 1832.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Pekin has a population of 32,081 people<3> (see below for details).
Pekin is 530 feet [162 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Pekin lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Pekin is within the boundaries of the (309) area code.
The ZIP codes for Pekin: 61554-61555, 61558<5>
Websites for Pekin ...
Official Website: www.ci.pekin.il.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Pekin had an population of 32,081 people. This is a decrease of 5.9% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.25% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Pekin had a population of 34,094 people (or 25.16% of the total population of Tazewell County). This makes Pekin the county's most populous community.
The population of Pekin represents 0.27% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 54th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 34,094 people, the population of Pekin has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 33,857 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Pekin.
Communities Also Named Pekin ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 20 communities that are also named Pekin - they are located in Arkansas (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky (2), Maryland, Nebraska, New York (2), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio (5), Tennessee and Vermont.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pekin.
Communities near Pekin ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Pekin.
- Peoria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Peoria is located in Peoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109,428 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peoria <6>
- East Peoria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peoria
- East Peoria is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,344 people
- Former name for East Peoria:
- Hilton
- Washington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Washington is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,395 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Washington <6>
- Morton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
- Morton is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,232 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morton <6>
- Peoria Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria Heights
- Peoria Heights is located in Peoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,722 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peoria Heights <6>
- West Peoria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Peoria have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peoria
- West Peoria is located in Peoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,418 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Peoria <6>
- Germantown Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Germantown Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown Hills
- Germantown Hills is located in Woodford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,390 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Germantown Hills <6>
- Tremont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Tremont is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tremont <6>
- Bellevue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Mackinaw
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackinaw
- Mackinaw is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,861 people
- Former name for Mackinaw:
- Mackinawtown
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mackinaw <6>
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 Pekin. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Pekin.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Pekin. 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 Pekin.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Pekin. Our list includes 25 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Pekin.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Pekin ...
Looking for more information about Pekin? 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 Pekin, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Pekin.
Adding Pekin to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Pekin 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 Pekin was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Pekin post office opened in 1832.
We also found Pekin in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Pekin.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Pekin: www.ci.pekin.il.us/
The official website for Tazewell County: www.tazewell.com/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Tazewell, 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 Pekin. 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 Pekin. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Pekin - 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 Pekin). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Pekin or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Pekin includes: 61554 & 61555. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |