Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Its population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, behind Belleville and O'Fallon. Officially founded in 1896, Granite City was named by the Niedringhaus brothers, William and Frederick, who established it as a steelmaking company town for the manufacture of graniteware kitchen utensils.