Welcome to Waterloo ...
The city of Waterloo is located in Monroe County<1> and is the County Seat for Monroe County.
The location of Waterloo has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
The pronunciation of Waterloo: WAH-ter-LOO<3>
Waterloo was established in 1849.
When the people of Waterloo refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Waterlooan<4>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Waterloo has a population of 10,565 people<5> (see below for details).
The community of Waterloo is 670 feet [204 m] above sea level.<6>.
Time Zone: Waterloo lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Waterloo is within the (618) area code.
The ZIP code for Waterloo: 62298<7>
Websites for Waterloo ...
Official Website: www.waterloo.il.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Waterloo had an population of 10,565 people. This is an increase of 7.69% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 38.76% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Waterloo had a population of 9,811 people (or 29.77% of the total population of Monroe County). This makes Waterloo the county's most populous community.
The population of Waterloo represents 0.08% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 222nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 9,811 people, the population of Waterloo increased 28.85% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 7,614 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Waterloo.
Communities Also Named Waterloo ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 58 communities that are also named Waterloo - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Georgia, Indiana (3), Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky (2), Louisiana, Maryland (3), Michigan, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska (2), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio (6), Oklahoma, Ontario (3), Oregon, Pennsylvania (3), Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (2), Virginia (5), Washington (2), West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Waterloo.
Communities near Waterloo ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Waterloo.
- Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
- Saint Louis is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Louis <8>
- Belleville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Belleville is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,536 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belleville <8>
- East Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Saint Louis
- East Saint Louis is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,776 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Saint Louis <8>
- Arnold
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <8>
- Fairview Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Heights
- Fairview Heights is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,127 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairview Heights <8>
- Cahokia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahokia
- Cahokia is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,742 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cahokia <8>
- Shiloh
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiloh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Shiloh is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,653 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shiloh <8>
- Swansea
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swansea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansea
- Swansea is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,276 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swansea <8>
- Festus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <8>
- Crestwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
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 Waterloo. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Waterloo.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Waterloo. 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 Waterloo.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterloo. Our list includes 12 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Waterloo.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Waterloo ...
Looking for more information about Waterloo? 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 Waterloo, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Waterloo.
Adding Waterloo to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Waterloo 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 Waterloo was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Waterloo post office opened in 1818.
We also found Waterloo in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Waterloo.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Waterloo: www.waterloo.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 Monroe, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Waterloo. 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. |
| <4> | 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 Waterloo 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 Waterloo may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <5> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Waterloo. |
| <6> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Waterloo - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <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 Waterloo). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Waterloo 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> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |