Welcome to Pontiac ...
Pontiac is located in Saint Clair County<1>.
The pronunciation of Pontiac: PAHN-tee-ak<2>
When the people of Pontiac refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Pontiacker<3>
Pontiac is 570 feet [174 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Pontiac lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Pontiac: 618 & 730<5>
Communities Also Named Pontiac ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Illinois communities named Pontiac: This one is located in Saint Clair County and the other is located in Livingston County.
Beyond Illinois, there are 16 communities that are also named Pontiac - they are located in Arkansas, Indiana (2), Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Quebec (3), Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pontiac.
Communities near Pontiac ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Pontiac.
- Saint Louis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Belleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- University City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- O'Fallon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Granite City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Saint Louis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Edwardsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Collinsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Clayton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,775 people
- Jennings
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jennings. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<7>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Jennings is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,644 people
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 Pontiac. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Pontiac.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Pontiac. 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 Pontiac.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Pontiac. See our Newspapers Page for Pontiac.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Pontiac ...
Looking for more information about Pontiac? 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.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Pontiac, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Pontiac.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Saint Clair, 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 Pontiac. 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 Pontiac refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Pontiac may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Pontiac - 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 618 code has been Overlayed with the 730 area code. New phone numbers in the Pontiac area will be assigned with one of these codes: 618 or 730. As a result, placing a call in the Pontiac area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |