Canton, IL, Illinois: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+24%. Democratic peak: D+26 in 1992.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+24MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 33,0202024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,5992024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+26 in 1992MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+26 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Canton, IL, ILOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,980 | 9,827 | 16,144 | ||
| R | 6,503 | 9,867 | 16,724 | ||
| R | 6,133 | 8,492 | 15,797 | ||
| D | 8,328 | 6,632 | 15,411 | ||
| D | 9,732 | 6,251 | 16,323 | ||
| D | 9,080 | 7,818 | 17,035 | ||
| D | 8,940 | 6,936 | 16,277 | ||
| D | 8,857 | 5,155 | 15,706 | ||
| D | 9,725 | 5,062 | 17,701 | ||
| D | 9,046 | 6,999 | 16,108 | ||
| R | 9,131 | 9,147 | 18,377 | ||
| R | 7,481 | 10,316 | 18,957 | ||
| R | 9,314 | 9,588 | 19,090 | ||
| R | 7,529 | 12,328 | 19,949 | ||
| D | 9,622 | 9,582 | 20,509 | ||
| D | 13,030 | 7,785 | 20,815 | ||
| R | 10,194 | 11,999 | 22,251 | ||
| R | 8,702 | 12,375 | 21,125 | ||
| R | 8,414 | 13,302 | 21,760 | ||
| R | 8,226 | 9,504 | 17,933 | ||
| R | 8,946 | 11,117 | 20,229 | ||
| R | 12,198 | 12,816 | 25,228 | ||
| D | 12,864 | 10,130 | 23,422 | ||
| D | 12,144 | 7,579 | 20,611 | ||
| R | 6,591 | 10,600 | 17,680 | ||
| R | 5,011 | 8,664 | 17,921 | ||
| R | 5,293 | 9,523 | 16,072 | ||
| R | 8,686 | 9,735 | 19,997 | ||
| O | 3,902 | 2,263 | 11,130 | ||
| R | 4,906 | 6,077 | 12,025 | ||
| R | 3,791 | 6,373 | 11,246 | ||
| R | 5,762 | 6,130 | 12,221 | ||
| R | 5,979 | 6,195 | 12,303 | ||
| D | 5,253 | 4,948 | 10,822 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.3%
English
15.9%
Irish
10.6%
American
7.2%
Italian
3.3%
Scottish
2.5%
French
1.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 43.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$60,599
Canton, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Canton, IL$60,599
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.5%
Working age (18–64)12.2%
Seniors (65+)7.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.5%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 69.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Canton anchors a rural Fulton County electorate that has shifted decisively toward Republican margins over the past two decades, tracking the broader realignment of downstate Illinois working-class communities away from their historic Democratic roots.
The Democratic margin in Canton, IL peaked at twenty-six points in 1992. By 2016 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $60,599 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Canton, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/15900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Canton, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Canton, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 23.8 points (R+24), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,144 votes cast, 5,980 went Democratic and 9,827 went Republican.
What is Canton, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Canton, IL, Illinois as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Canton, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Canton, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Canton, IL, Illinois?
Canton, IL, Illinois has a population of 33,020 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Canton, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Canton, IL, Illinois is $60,599 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Canton, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Canton, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.