Welcome to Princeton ...
The city of Princeton is located in Bureau County<1> and is the County Seat for Bureau County.
The pronunciation of Princeton: PRINS-tuhn<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Princeton, you might consider that their post office opened in 1833.
When the people of Princeton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Princetonian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Princeton has a population of 7,469 people<4> (see below for details).
Princeton is 680 feet [207 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Princeton lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Princeton: (815) & (779)<6>
The ZIP code for Princeton: 61356<7>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Princeton had an population of 7,469 people. This is a decrease of 2.49% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 0.43% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Princeton had a population of 7,660 people (which is 21.9% of the total population of Bureau County). This makes Princeton the county's most populous community.
The population of Princeton represents 0.06% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 262nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 7,660 people, the population of Princeton increased 2.12% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 7,501 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Princeton.
Communities Also Named Princeton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 43 communities that are also named Princeton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas (2), British Columbia, California (3), Colorado, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Newfoundland and Labrador, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (2), Tennessee, Texas (2), Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Princeton.
Communities near Princeton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Princeton.
- Peru
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
- Peru is located in La Salle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,612 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <8>
- Spring Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,065 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <8>
- Henry
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henry have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Henry is located in Marshall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <8>
- De Pue
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Granville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Granville is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,298 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Granville <8>
- Walnut
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Walnut is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut <8>
- Ladd
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
- Ladd is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <8>
- Wyanet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyanet have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyanet
- Wyanet is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 914 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wyanet <8>
- Sheffield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheffield have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
- Sheffield is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 855 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheffield <8>
- Hennepin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hennepin have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hennepin
- Hennepin is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hennepin <8>
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 Princeton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Princeton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Princeton. 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 Princeton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Princeton. Our list includes 12 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Princeton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Princeton ...
Looking for more information about Princeton? 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 Princeton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Princeton.
Adding Princeton to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Princeton 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 Princeton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<10>
From that list, the Princeton post office opened in 1833.
We also found Princeton in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Princeton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Princeton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Bureau, 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 Princeton. 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 Princeton 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 Princeton 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 Princeton. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Princeton - 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 Princeton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Princeton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | 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. |
| <10> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |