Welcome to Willmar ...
The city of Willmar is located in Kandiyohi County<1> and is the County Seat for Kandiyohi County.
The pronunciation of Willmar: WIL-mer<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Willmar, you might consider that their post office opened in 1869.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Willmar has a population of 19,843 people<3> (see below for details).
Willmar is 1,120 feet [341 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Willmar lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Code for Willmar: 320
The ZIP code for Willmar: 56201<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Willmar had an population of 19,843 people. This is an increase of 1.19% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 8.13% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Willmar had a population of 19,610 people (which is 46.43% of the total population of Kandiyohi County). This makes Willmar the county's most populous community.
The population of Willmar represents 0.37% of the total population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 56th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 19,610 people, the population of Willmar increased 6.86% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 18,351 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Willmar.
Communities Also Named Willmar ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Willmar - it's located in Saskatchewan.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willmar.
Websites for Willmar ...
Official Website: www.ci.willmar.mn.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.willmarareachamber.com/
Communities near Willmar ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Willmar.
- New London
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
- New London is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New London <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to New London
- From Willmar to New London
- Clara City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clara City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara City
- Clara City is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clara City <6>
- Spicer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spicer have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
- Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <6>
- Atwater
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwater
- Atwater is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,113 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atwater <6>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Atwater
- From Willmar to Atwater
- Raymond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <6>
- Kerkhoven
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerkhoven have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerkhoven
- Kerkhoven is located in Swift County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kerkhoven <6>
- Grove City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
- Grove City is located in Meeker County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grove City <6>
- Pennock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Prinsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prinsburg
- Prinsburg is located in Kandiyohi County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Prinsburg
- From Willmar to Prinsburg
- Murdock
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdock
- Murdock is located in Swift County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Murdock
- From Willmar to Murdock
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 Willmar. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Willmar.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Willmar. 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 Willmar.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Willmar. Our list includes 18 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Willmar.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Willmar ...
Looking for more information about Willmar? 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 Willmar, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Willmar.
Adding Willmar to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Willmar 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 Willmar was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
X2X - From that list, the Willmar post office opened in 1869.
We also found Willmar in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Willmar.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Willmar: www.ci.willmar.mn.us/
The official website for Kandiyohi County: www.co.kandiyohi.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Kandiyohi, 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 Willmar. 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 Willmar. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Willmar - 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 Willmar). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Willmar or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <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/ |