Galesburg, IL, Illinois: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+9%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+9MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 49,0462024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,0302024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 8.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1996MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Galesburg, 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 | 9,838 | 11,917 | 22,191 | ||
| R | 10,703 | 12,009 | 23,208 | ||
| R | 10,083 | 10,737 | 22,503 | ||
| D | 13,451 | 9,408 | 23,356 | ||
| D | 14,191 | 9,419 | 23,988 | ||
| D | 13,403 | 11,111 | 24,708 | ||
| D | 12,572 | 9,912 | 23,174 | ||
| D | 12,487 | 7,822 | 22,548 | ||
| D | 12,524 | 8,331 | 25,296 | ||
| D | 12,752 | 10,842 | 23,700 | ||
| R | 12,027 | 14,974 | 27,122 | ||
| R | 8,749 | 14,907 | 26,198 | ||
| R | 11,525 | 14,123 | 25,967 | ||
| R | 9,333 | 17,315 | 26,766 | ||
| R | 9,707 | 14,216 | 26,396 | ||
| D | 15,000 | 12,850 | 27,850 | ||
| R | 11,889 | 17,938 | 29,850 | ||
| R | 9,558 | 18,656 | 28,251 | ||
| R | 10,354 | 18,569 | 28,940 | ||
| R | 9,772 | 15,016 | 24,952 | ||
| R | 10,070 | 15,964 | 26,160 | ||
| R | 12,597 | 17,459 | 30,224 | ||
| R | 13,697 | 14,712 | 29,124 | ||
| D | 12,282 | 12,244 | 24,918 | ||
| R | 5,993 | 16,151 | 22,330 | ||
| R | 2,617 | 12,968 | 19,680 | ||
| R | 2,852 | 12,559 | 17,005 | ||
| R | 6,785 | 10,918 | 18,555 | ||
| O | 2,758 | 1,750 | 10,467 | ||
| R | 3,277 | 7,084 | 11,098 | ||
| R | 1,849 | 7,566 | 10,247 | ||
| R | 3,299 | 7,810 | 11,549 | ||
| R | 3,480 | 7,681 | 11,397 | ||
| R | 3,073 | 5,800 | 9,588 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.5%
Irish
13.7%
English
11.9%
American
4.8%
Italian
2.1%
Scottish
1.9%
French
1.4%
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: 42.6 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
$57,030
Galesburg, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Galesburg, IL$57,030
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.9%
Working age (18–64)13.7%
Seniors (65+)13.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.8%
speak English only
Spanish2.6%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 75.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Galesburg anchors Knox County, which swung sharply toward Republicans after Maytag's 2004 plant closure eliminated roughly 1,600 jobs and accelerated a demographic shift toward older, working-class white voters.
The Democratic margin in Galesburg, IL peaked at twenty-one points in 1996. By 2016 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $57,030 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.
Galesburg, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/23660/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Galesburg, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Galesburg, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 9.4 points (R+9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 22,191 votes cast, 9,838 went Democratic and 11,917 went Republican.
What is Galesburg, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Galesburg, 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 9 times, Republican 24 times, and other 1 times.
When did Galesburg, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Galesburg, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Galesburg, IL, Illinois?
Galesburg, IL, Illinois has a population of 49,046 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Galesburg, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Galesburg, IL, Illinois is $57,030 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Galesburg, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Galesburg, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.