Effingham, Illinois

Effingham, Illinois
City
The Old Effingham County Courthouse in the mid-2000s.
Motto:  "Crossroads of Opportunity"
Location of Effingham in Effingham County, Illinois
Effingham Show map of Illinois Effingham Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°7′15″N 88°32′45″W / 39.12083°N 88.54583°W / 39.12083; -88.54583
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Effingham
Government
• Mayor	Mike Schutzbach
Area [1]
• Total	10.55 sq mi (27.34 km2)
• Land	10.48 sq mi (27.16 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation [2]	594 ft (181 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,252
• Density	1,168.53/sq mi (451.16/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62401
Area codes	217, 447
FIPS code	17-22736
GNIS ID	2394628[2]
Wikimedia Commons	Effingham, Illinois
Website	www.effinghamil.com

Effingham is a city in and the county seat of Effingham County, Illinois, United States. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The city bills itself as "The Crossroads of Opportunity" because of its location at the intersection of two major Interstate highways: I-57 running from Chicago to Sikeston, Missouri, and I-70 running from Utah to Maryland. It is also served by U.S. Route 45, which runs from Ontonagon, Michigan to Mobile, Alabama, U.S. Route 40, the historic National Road, which stretches from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Silver Summit, Utah, and Illinois routes 32 and 33 also run through the city. It is also a major railroad junction, the crossing of the Illinois Central main line from Chicago to Memphis with the Pennsylvania Railroad line from Indianapolis to St. Louis. For this reason, Effingham has a much broader range of restaurants and lodging facilities than typical towns of its size.