Decatur, IL

Decatur, Illinois
City
City of Decatur
Decatur downtown
Decatur Show map of Illinois Decatur Show map of the US Location in Illinois
Coordinates: 39°50′29.12″N 88°57′21.17″W / 39.8414222°N 88.9558806°W / 39.8414222; -88.9558806Coordinates: 39°50′29.12″N 88°57′21.17″W / 39.8414222°N 88.9558806°W / 39.8414222; -88.9558806
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Macon
Founded	1823
Area
• Land	42.22 sq mi (109.3 km2)
• Water	4.69 sq mi (12.1 km2)
Elevation	677 ft (206 m)
Population (2010)
• Estimate (2015)	73,254
• Density	1,969.7/sq mi (760.5/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC)
ZIP code	62521, 62522, 62523, 62526
Area code(s)	217
Website	www.ci.decatur.il.us

Decatur /dəˈkeɪtər/ is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city was founded in 1829 and is along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2015, the city's estimated population was 73,254.

The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College. Decatur has vast industrial and agricultural processing production, including the North American headquarters of agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, international agribusiness Tate & Lyle's largest corn-processing plant, and the designing and manufacturing facilities for Caterpillar Inc.'s wheel-tractor scrapers, off-highway trucks, and large mining trucks.

Decatur is located at 39°51′6″N 88°56′39″W / 39.85167°N 88.94417°W / 39.85167; -88.94417 (39.851636, −88.944228). Decatur is three hours southwest of Chicago, 40 miles due east of Springfield, the state capital, and two hours northeast of St. Louis by car.