Decatur, IL, Illinois: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+19%. Republican peak: R+42 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 101,8492024 5-year
- Median household income
- $62,6662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 16.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+32 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+42 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Decatur, 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 | 18,009 | 26,562 | 45,341 | ||
| R | 19,847 | 28,589 | 49,534 | ||
| R | 18,343 | 26,866 | 48,060 | ||
| R | 22,780 | 25,309 | 49,030 | ||
| D | 25,487 | 24,948 | 51,216 | ||
| R | 23,341 | 28,118 | 51,746 | ||
| D | 24,262 | 23,830 | 49,499 | ||
| D | 24,256 | 18,161 | 47,235 | ||
| D | 27,449 | 18,684 | 55,580 | ||
| D | 25,364 | 23,862 | 49,489 | ||
| R | 25,463 | 30,457 | 56,112 | ||
| R | 22,325 | 28,298 | 53,956 | ||
| D | 28,243 | 24,893 | 53,599 | ||
| R | 20,296 | 29,596 | 50,029 | ||
| D | 23,369 | 21,027 | 49,741 | ||
| D | 35,045 | 17,957 | 53,002 | ||
| R | 26,029 | 27,151 | 53,288 | ||
| R | 23,066 | 27,673 | 50,771 | ||
| R | 22,277 | 25,744 | 48,066 | ||
| D | 21,487 | 18,719 | 40,456 | ||
| D | 22,808 | 19,608 | 42,569 | ||
| D | 27,589 | 19,998 | 47,864 | ||
| D | 27,360 | 15,585 | 43,486 | ||
| D | 21,638 | 16,868 | 39,346 | ||
| R | 9,932 | 24,492 | 34,654 | ||
| R | 6,670 | 16,458 | 27,331 | ||
| R | 7,917 | 16,486 | 25,257 | ||
| R | 11,181 | 13,997 | 26,427 | ||
| O | 4,435 | 3,356 | 12,278 | ||
| R | 4,615 | 6,643 | 11,866 | ||
| R | 2,952 | 6,284 | 10,008 | ||
| R | 4,874 | 6,086 | 11,216 | ||
| R | 4,756 | 6,216 | 11,154 | ||
| R | 4,303 | 4,575 | 9,524 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
18.6%
English
12.4%
Irish
10.4%
American
6.0%
Italian
1.7%
Polish
1.7%
Scottish
1.7%
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: 40.6 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
$62,666
Decatur, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Decatur, IL$62,666
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.2%
Working age (18–64)14.0%
Seniors (65+)9.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.9%
speak English only
Spanish1.7%
Other Indo-European1.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Decatur anchors Macon County, a once-reliably Democratic union stronghold that shifted sharply rightward as Archer Daniels Midland's workforce contracted and the region's industrial base eroded over the past three decades.
The Democratic margin in Decatur, IL peaked at thirty-two points in 1964. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nineteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $62,666 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% 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.
Decatur, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/19500/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Decatur, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Decatur, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 18.9 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 45,341 votes cast, 18,009 went Democratic and 26,562 went Republican.
What is Decatur, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Decatur, 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 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Decatur, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Decatur, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Decatur, IL, Illinois?
Decatur, IL, Illinois has a population of 101,849 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Decatur, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Decatur, IL, Illinois is $62,666 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Decatur, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Decatur, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.