The Near South Side is located just south of the downtown central business district, the Loop, which is itself a community area. The Near South Side's boundaries are as follows: North—Roosevelt Road (1200 S); South—26th Street; West—Chicago River between Roosevelt and 18th Street, Clark Street between 18th Street and 22nd Street, Federal between 22nd and the Stevenson Expressway just south of 25th Street, and Clark Street again between the Stevenson and 26th Street; and East—Lake Michigan.

The portion of the Near South Side located east of Lake Shore Drive contains some of the most well-known structures in Chicago: Soldier Field (the home of the National Football League Chicago Bears), the eastern half of McCormick Place (Chicago's primary convention center), the Museum Campus (which contains the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium), and Northerly Island. The remaining area is currently undergoing a major residential and mixed-use redevelopment.