Carbondale, IL, Illinois: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+3%. Democratic peak: D+27 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+3MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 53,0642024 5-year
- Median household income
- $48,7632024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 72.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 14.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+26 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Carbondale, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 11,394 | 10,614 | 22,465 | ||
| D | 11,181 | 10,890 | 22,718 | ||
| D | 11,634 | 10,843 | 24,617 | ||
| D | 13,319 | 9,864 | 24,104 | ||
| D | 15,248 | 9,687 | 25,532 | ||
| D | 14,300 | 11,190 | 25,826 | ||
| D | 11,773 | 9,823 | 23,090 | ||
| D | 12,214 | 7,422 | 22,011 | ||
| D | 13,373 | 6,899 | 24,434 | ||
| D | 11,334 | 9,687 | 21,185 | ||
| R | 12,105 | 13,609 | 25,896 | ||
| R | 10,291 | 10,505 | 23,829 | ||
| D | 12,940 | 10,152 | 24,122 | ||
| D | 13,146 | 12,393 | 25,594 | ||
| R | 8,856 | 9,134 | 19,657 | ||
| D | 12,165 | 7,013 | 19,178 | ||
| R | 8,527 | 10,568 | 19,112 | ||
| R | 7,391 | 10,526 | 17,927 | ||
| R | 7,457 | 10,193 | 17,674 | ||
| R | 6,939 | 8,288 | 15,408 | ||
| R | 6,735 | 10,002 | 16,791 | ||
| R | 9,600 | 11,980 | 21,708 | ||
| R | 9,971 | 10,363 | 20,546 | ||
| D | 9,730 | 7,636 | 17,715 | ||
| R | 5,836 | 9,180 | 15,102 | ||
| R | 4,707 | 6,424 | 13,030 | ||
| R | 4,575 | 8,003 | 13,347 | ||
| R | 6,780 | 8,356 | 15,443 | ||
| D | 3,323 | 2,780 | 7,833 | ||
| R | 3,149 | 4,016 | 7,568 | ||
| R | 2,350 | 3,984 | 7,076 | ||
| R | 3,723 | 4,054 | 7,954 | ||
| R | 3,631 | 3,879 | 7,620 | ||
| R | 2,858 | 3,031 | 6,460 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.2%
English
13.3%
Irish
10.3%
Italian
3.8%
American
3.1%
French
2.4%
Scottish
2.4%
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: 32.4 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
$48,763
Carbondale, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Carbondale, IL$48,763
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
21.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1822.3%
Working age (18–64)21.5%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.8%
Spanish3.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Carbondale's voting patterns diverge sharply from surrounding Jackson County precincts, driven by a student and faculty population at SIU that tilts the city's electorate well left of the region's broader rural baseline.
The Democratic margin in Carbondale, IL has rarely exceeded twenty-seven points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded twenty-six points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by three points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 73% non-Hispanic-white share, a 21% poverty rate, and a median household income of $48,763 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Carbondale, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/16060/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Carbondale, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Carbondale, IL, Illinois voted Democratic by 3.5 points (D+3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 22,465 votes cast, 11,394 went Democratic and 10,614 went Republican.
What is Carbondale, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Carbondale, IL, Illinois as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Carbondale, IL, Illinois last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Carbondale, IL, Illinois voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Carbondale, IL, Illinois?
Carbondale, IL, Illinois has a population of 53,064 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Carbondale, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Carbondale, IL, Illinois is $48,763 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Carbondale, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Carbondale, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.