Elgin, Illinois

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1925 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Elgin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60120. It stands on Tyler Creek. The Survey maps it on the Elgin quadrangle. 114,797 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 745 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Elgin within Kane County

On record in Elgin

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 14 shown

Elgin Academylisted 1976
Elgin Downtown Commercial District (Additional Documentation)listed 2014
Elgin Historic Districtlisted 1983
Elgin National Watch Company Observatorylisted 1994
Elgin Tower Buildinglisted 2002
Fire Barn 5listed 1991
First Universalist Churchlisted 1980
Gifford-Davidson Houselisted 1980
Larkin Home for Childrenlisted 2018
Memorial Washington Reformed Presbyterian Churchlisted 1980
Ora Pelton Houselisted 1982
Spring-Douglas Historic Districtlisted 2000

Every listing in Kane County

Population over time

2 figures

Elgin grew from 108,188 to 114,797 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	108,188
2020	114,797	+6,609 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1925 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
1940 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500
1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1962 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
1962 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:62500
1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
1981 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:100000
1992 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:24000
1998 USGS Elgin quadrangle1:24000

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Elgin: 8 past producers, 6 producers, 2 plants. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Elgin City Pit	Stone	Past Producer
Fox River Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Fox River Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Bartlett Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Bartlett Plant & Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Beverly Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Dundee S & G Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Elgin Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Hammond Plant & Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Hammonds Pit & Mill	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Plant

Every working recorded in Kane County

Storms near this place

60 of 90 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elgin in 90 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 51 thunderstorm wind, 20 hail, 6 heavy rain, 4 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2006	Lightning	Elgin	1 killed, 1 hurt	Two men were struck by lightning on a golf course after taking cover under trees. One of the men died from his injuries two days later.
July 2003	Lightning	Elgin	1 hurt	A 28 year old man was critically injured after being struck by lightning while working on a roof.
July 2011	Lightning	Elgin	$35,000	A church on Division Street was struck by lightning which broke a hole in the steeple tower. Much of the damage was from heavy rain which entered through the hole.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$30,000	Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across many areas of Elgin. A tree fell onto a car on West Chicago Street.
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$25,000	Extensive tree damage with some roads closed was reported on the west side of Elgin. One foot diameter tree limbs were blown down. Part of a roof was blown off a business on Fleetwood.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$20,000	Wind gusts were estimated between 70 mph and 80 mph. Hundreds of trees suffered damaged on the east side of Elgin. Some trees were uprooted with large branches on cars. Several roads were closed due to downed power lines.
August 2008	Lightning	Elgin	$5,000	A house was struck by lightning on Prairie Street, sparking a fire in the kitchen. Damage was limited to the stove, a wall, cabinet and a window.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$3,000	Large trees and power lines were blown down. A utility pole was snapped and a fence was also blown down.
September 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$2,000	Several trees were blown down, some on wires.
September 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	$2,000	A four foot diameter tree was blown down near Worth and Larkin. Power lines were also blown down.
April 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A tree was down on Chicago St in Elgin.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Large sections of roofing were blown off of the First United Methodist Church in Elgin.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A large branch or small tree was down on College St near North St.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Extensive tree damage was reported along IL-25 between Summit St and Congdon Ave.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Kane County EMA reported a broken tree branch down onto power lines near Fremont St and Hill Ave in Elgin.
February 2024	Hail	South Elgin	-	A photo shared via social media shows one inch hail near Wayne.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	A wind gust to 59 mph was measured by a private weather station. Tree limbs were blown down.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A tree fell onto a car and damaged the windshield and a utility pole was blown down.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A large tree was down across Buckeye St in Elgin blocking the road.
January 2023	Hail	Elgin	-	Photos showed that most hailstones were half an inch in diameter or less, though the largest hailstones were roughly one inch in diameter.
April 2023	Hail	Elgin	-	A photo shared on social media showed quarter size hail near Elgin.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Large trees were snapped and large tree limbs were blown down, some onto power lines near National Street and Villa Street.
July 2022	Heavy Rain	Elgin	-	A private weather station measured 3.38 inches of rain in about one hour.
July 2022	Heavy Rain	Elgin	-	A private weather station measured 3.25 inches of rain in about one hour.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Several 5 inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	A large tree was uprooted.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Extensive tree damage was reported across the Elgin historic district with trees uprooted and trees that fell onto houses.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Multiple small tree limbs were blown down in Elgin.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A large tree four to five feet in diameter was snapped and fell onto nearby utility poles between Douglas Avenue and Spring Street. Several other medium to large tree limbs were blown down in the area.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A personal weather station measured a gust to 58 mph.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A large tree limb was blown down into the road at Liberty Street and Sherman Avenue.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	A measured gust to 58 mph was reported.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Elgin and vicinity.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	A large tree limb was blown down.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A large tree limb was blown down.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Large tree limbs were blown down blocking Hammond Avenue.
June 2020	Flood	Elgin	-	Street flooding was reported at the intersection of Meyer Street and Jane Drive.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	Trees were blown down and a steel pier on the Fox River was damaged.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A swath of wind damage occurred in Elgin starting north of Route 20 and west of Route 31 and continuing northeast between Route 31 and Dundee Avenue, ending south of Interstate 90. Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down. Some trees were uprooted. Two tree limbs were blown down onto a car. Utility poles and power lines were also blown down.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A one foot diameter tree was blown down onto a house on Oak Street.
July 2017	Flood	Elgin	-	Water was reported on multiple roads in Elgin. Rainfall of 1.33 inches was measured in 25 minutes.
April 2016	Hail	Elgin	-	Quarter size hail was reported near the intersection of Route 20 and McClean Boulevard.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Branches down Rt. 25 and Sunset Park Dr.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Power lines blown down as well as tree limbs of 4 to 6 inches diameter blown down. Time estimated.
September 2015	Heavy Rain	Elgin	-	CoCoRaHs observer reported 1.01 inches of rain in 20 minutes. Since midnight 1.80 inches of rain had fallen.
May 2014	Flash Flood	Elgin	-	Approximately four to eight inches of flowing water was reported over the intersection of Route 25 and Route 19.
November 2013	Flood	Elgin	-	Several streets in Elgin were flooded with one to two feet of water. A spotter measured 0.95 inches of rain.
July 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Winds measured to 60 mph knocked out power near the intersection of Randall Road and Bowes Road. Large tree limbs were blown down in north Elgin.
June 2012	Hail	Elgin	-	Numerous reports of large hail were received from Elgin. Average hail was nickel size with the largest up to ping pong ball size. Hail caused denting in cars and shredded leaves.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph. Small tree limbs were blown down.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
September 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elgin	-	A one foot diameter tree was snapped off 10 feet above the ground. Three houses were damaged by falling limbs in Elgin.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	Large tree limbs were blown down.
August 2009	Heavy Rain	Elgin	-	Rainfall of 2.12 inches was reported in the past 24 hours.
May 2008	Hail	South Elgin	-	Penny size hail was reported two miles south of Route 20 on Route 25.
May 2008	Heavy Rain	South Elgin	-	One and one half inches of rain was reported in 15 minutes.
August 2008	Flood	Elgin	-	Street flooding was reported curb to curb at Demmond and Mclean Boulevard. Rainfall of 2.04 inches was also reported.
August 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	South Elgin	-	A large tree was blown down near Crispin Drive and Mclean Boulevard.

Every storm recorded in Kane County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Illinois Park	1.9 miles	20
Clintonville	2.6 miles	20
South Elgin	3.0 miles	17
Weldwood Oaks	3.3 miles	20
Almora	3.3 miles	20
Almora Heights	3.3 miles	20
West Highland Acres	3.6 miles	20
Williamsburg Green	3.8 miles	20

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Elgin	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q499887	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 407859. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.