Elevation of Springfield
600ft
above sea level · 183 m
Springfield is the capital of Illinois. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 22nd highest. The state’s largest city is Chicago.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 39.80° N · 89.64° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 39° 48′ 6″ N · 89° 38′ 37″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 16S · 273,668 E · 4,409,094 N
- Zone 16 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 112,989 people
- 61.3 sq mi of land · 1,842 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from February 2026: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Springfield had 112,989 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.4% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 114,570. Its 61.3 sq mi of land work out to 1,842 people/sq mi; the state average is 229 people/sq mi.
It’s the 7th most populous of the 1,461 places the Census counts in Illinois (cities, towns and CDPs), after Chicago (2,731,585), and holds 0.9% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Sangamon County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.7 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Springfield sits at 600 ft (183 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Springfield is 498 ft below it.
The highest point in Illinois is Charles Mound, at 1,235 ft according to the USGS: 635 ft above Springfield, 189 mi away in a straight line.
- 22 Springfield 600 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Springfield.
What is the elevation of Springfield?
Springfield is 600 feet (183 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Springfield?
Latitude 39.80172 and longitude -89.64371, in decimal degrees (39° 48′ 6″ N · 89° 38′ 37″ W). In UTM, zone 16: 273,668 E and 4,409,094 N, on NAD83.
How does Springfield rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 22nd highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Springfield in?
Sangamon County, Illinois.
Which is higher, Springfield or St. Louis?
Springfield. Springfield sits at 600 ft and St. Louis at 464 ft: a difference of 136 ft, 86 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know