Hjälmaren is 63 kilometres long, about 20 kilometres wide, and has an average depth of 6 metres, and a surface of 483 km2. The largest towns around the lake is Örebro and Eskilstuna situated at the western and eastern ends of the lake.
Between 1878 and 1887, a damming project lowered the surface level of Hjälmaren 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) to free up land for agriculture and to reduce the risk of flooding.