Pekin Illinois Map

About Pekin, Illinois

Pekin is a locality in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. It has a population of 31,781. The population density is 781.3 people per km². Pekin is located at 40.5675°N, 89.6407°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. ZIP code: 61554.

Pekin sits on flat land, a broad expanse where the Illinois River bends and the sky seems to stretch forever. It lies 9.1 miles south-south-west of Peoria, IL (from Peoria, IL: bearing 197°T), and is situated 7.5 miles south-south-west of East Peoria. The air here, especially in the late afternoon, carries a muted, earthy scent, a mix of drying corn stalks and the faint, metallic tang of industry. Streetlights begin to hum to life, casting long shadows across the asphalt and glinting off the chrome of pickup trucks parked outside familiar storefronts. The landscape is a study in patient horizontality, broken only by the occasional grain elevator reaching skyward like a silent sentinel. This stretch of Tazewell County has always known the river's pull, shaping its fortunes from early steamboat days to the barge traffic that still hums along its watery veins. Pekin’s history is tied to the processing of agricultural bounty, a legacy that lingers in the steady hum of machinery and the vast fields that surround it. For generations, this was a place where hard work met the land, and the echoes of that endeavor can still be felt in the pragmatic, no-nonsense character of its people. The Illinois River remains a vital artery, a reminder of the enduring connection between Pekin and the broader currents of commerce and nature.

About This Pekin Map Page

This page provides an interactive Google map of Pekin, Illinois with street, satellite and terrain views and integrated Street View imagery. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Pekin and Tazewell County.

Detailed location data for Pekin includes the ZIP code (61554), telephone area code (815), county seat of Tazewell County (Pekin), and school district assignment (Pekin Community High School District 303). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Pekin is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.