Prior to the American Civil War there was a proposal to establish a Western District of Columbia to include present day Metropolis and the nearby area of Kentucky. An 1850 map illustrates this proposal.
On January 21, 1972 DC Comics declared Metropolis "Hometown of Superman". On June 9, 1972 the Illinois State Legislature passed Resolution 572 that declared Metropolis the "Hometown of Superman," the comic book superhero who is based in the fictional city of Metropolis. Among the ways it celebrates the character are a large Superman statue in the city, a small Superman museum, and an annual Superman Celebration that is always held the second weekend in June. Also, it has a local newspaper, known as The Metropolis Planet, (MetropolisPlanet.com) a name inspired by the newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet.
Metropolis is also home to Harrah's Metropolis casino/hotel, a riverboat casino frequented by visitors from around the region, making tourism one of the city's largest industries.
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,482 people, 2,896 households, and 1,708 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,295.1 people per square mile (499.5/km²). There were 3,265 housing units at an average density of 652.3/sq mi (251.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.53% White, 7.61% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 2,896 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,371, and the median income for a family was $33,979. Males had a median income of $27,630 versus $17,561 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,967. About 12.5% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
Metropolis is served by Interstate 24, a regional Interstate Highway that runs from Chattanooga, Tennessee northwest to St. Louis, Missouri via Interstates 57 and 64. It is also served by U.S. Route 45, which runs geographically east-west through the area but runs north to Chicago and south to Paducah, and is signed north-south.
Illinois Route 145 lies east of the city and serves remote areas of nearby Shawnee National Forest.