It is a small city that lies on Lake Biel at 433 m above sea level. Jolimont, at 603 m, is the highest point in the municipality. The mountain provides an excellent view of the lake.
The Sankt-Petersinsel (St. Peter Island), really a peninsula, can be reached from Erlach by foot or by bicycle. The former president of the Swiss Confederation, Karl Scheurer, was from Erlach. The Bernese patrician surname von Erlach goes back to the locality.
There is also an Erlach family that has made the city. They now mostly live in Austria and Italy
| Historical population | |
|---|---|
| Year | Population |
| 1764 | 427 |
| 1850 | 619 |
| 1900 | 848 |
| 1930 | 704 |
| 1950 | 791 |
| 1960 | 858 |
| 1990 | 1,052 |
| 2000 | 1,123 |
| 2002 | 1,114 |
| 2004 | 1,091 |