Welcome to East Chicago ...
The city of East Chicago is located in Lake County<1>.
We aren't confident of the location of East Chicago, so consider the above location as an estimate.<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of East Chicago, you might consider that their post office opened in 1889.
A typical abbreviation for East Chicago: E. Chicago
From the Census Estimates for 2019, East Chicago has a population of 27,863 people<3> (see below for details).
East Chicago is 590 feet [180 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: East Chicago lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel east from East Chicago (for example, toward Michiana (MI)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
The telephone area code for East Chicago: (219)
The ZIP code for East Chicago: 46312<5>
Websites for East Chicago ...
Official Website: www.eastchicago.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, East Chicago had an population of 27,863 people. This is a decrease of 6.18% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 14.04% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, East Chicago had a population of 29,698 people (which is 5.99% of the total population of Lake County). This makes East Chicago the county's 4th most populous community.
The population of East Chicago represents 0.46% of the population of Indiana (which has 6,483,802 people), making it the state's 31st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 29,698 people, the population of East Chicago decreased 8.38% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 32,414 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for East Chicago.
Communities near East Chicago ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near East Chicago.
- Chicago
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago
- Chicago is located in Cook County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,677,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chicago <6>
- Gary
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Gary is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,693 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <6>
- Tinley Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tinley Park have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinley Park
- Tinley Park is located in Cook County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55,221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tinley Park <6>
- Oak Lawn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lawn
- Oak Lawn is located in Cook County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,376 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Lawn <6>
- Portage
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Porter County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37,137 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portage <6>
- Merrillville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillville
- Merrillville is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Merrillville <6>
- Crown Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Point
- Crown Point is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,906 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crown Point <6>
- Chicago Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Heights
- Chicago Heights is located in Cook County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,990 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chicago Heights <6>
- Schererville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schererville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schererville
- Schererville is located in Lake County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schererville <6>
- Burbank
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Burbank is located in Cook County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,933 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burbank <6>
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 East Chicago. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for East Chicago.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of East Chicago. 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 East Chicago.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around East Chicago. See our Newspapers Page for East Chicago.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for East Chicago ...
Looking for more information about East Chicago? 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 East Chicago, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for East Chicago.
Adding East Chicago to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of East Chicago 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 East Chicago was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the East Chicago post office opened in 1889.
We also found East Chicago in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for East Chicago.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for East Chicago: www.eastchicago.com/
The official website for Lake County: www.lakecountyin.org/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Indiana's counties, including Lake, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for East Chicago. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around East Chicago - 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 East Chicago). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether East Chicago 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/ |