Welcome to Grand Island ...
The city of Grand Island is located in Hall County<1> and is the County Seat for Hall County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Grand Island, you might consider that their post office opened in 1858.
When the people of Grand Island refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Grand Islander<2>
A typical abbreviation for Grand Island: Grand Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Grand Island has a population of 51,354 people<3> (see below for details).
Grand Island is 1,870 feet [570 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Grand Island lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Grand Island: (308)
The ZIP codes for Grand Island: 68801-68803<5>
Websites for Grand Island ...
Official Website: www.grand-island.com/
Chamber of Commerce: www.gichamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Grand Island had an population of 51,354 people. This is an increase of 5.84% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 19.59% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Grand Island had a population of 48,520 people (which is 82.79% of the total population of Hall County). This makes Grand Island the county's most populous community.
The population of Grand Island represents 2.66% of the population of Nebraska (which has 1,826,341 people), making it the state's 4th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 48,520 people, the population of Grand Island increased 12.99% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 42,940 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Grand Island.
Communities Also Named Grand Island ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Grand Island - they are located in California, Colorado, Florida and New York.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Grand Island.
Communities near Grand Island ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Grand Island.
- Aurora
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Aurora is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,490 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <7>
- Wood River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River
- Wood River is located in Hall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,307 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wood River <7>
- Doniphan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doniphan have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doniphan
- Doniphan is located in Hall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doniphan <7>
- Cairo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Cairo is located in Hall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 794 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <7>
- Alda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alda have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alda
- Alda is located in Hall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alda <7>
- Giltner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Giltner have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giltner
- Giltner is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Giltner <7>
- Dannebrog
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dannebrog have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dannebrog
- Dannebrog is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dannebrog <7>
- Phillips
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips
- Phillips is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phillips <7>
- Chapman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Chapman is located in Merrick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapman <7>
- Marquette
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette
- Marquette is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marquette <7>
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 Grand Island. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Grand Island.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Grand Island. 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 Grand Island.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Island. Our list includes 48 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Grand Island.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Grand Island ...
Looking for more information about Grand Island? 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 Grand Island, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Grand Island.
Adding Grand Island to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Grand Island 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 Grand Island was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Grand Island post office opened in 1858.
We also found Grand Island on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Nebraska (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Grand Island.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Grand Island: www.grand-island.com/
The official website for Hall County: www.hcgi.org/
The official website for State of Nebraska: www.nebraska.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Nebraska's counties, including Hall, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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 Grand Island 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 Grand Island may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Grand Island. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Grand Island - 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 Grand Island). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Grand Island or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Grand Island includes: 68801, 68802 & 68803. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |