Springfield, IL, Illinois: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+7%. Republican peak: R+33 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+7MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 207,0422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,7552024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 79.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 12.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+23 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+33 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Springfield, 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 | 47,908 | 55,478 | 105,602 | ||
| R | 50,939 | 58,249 | 112,096 | ||
| R | 42,724 | 54,175 | 104,888 | ||
| R | 44,207 | 54,173 | 100,448 | ||
| D | 54,006 | 50,617 | 106,292 | ||
| R | 40,767 | 60,312 | 101,949 | ||
| R | 40,578 | 54,236 | 97,687 | ||
| R | 41,106 | 45,280 | 93,973 | ||
| R | 42,316 | 42,475 | 103,159 | ||
| R | 39,832 | 53,735 | 94,108 | ||
| R | 35,885 | 58,011 | 94,289 | ||
| R | 30,943 | 52,994 | 90,734 | ||
| R | 40,318 | 46,446 | 88,389 | ||
| R | 27,307 | 54,115 | 82,338 | ||
| R | 31,182 | 39,490 | 77,991 | ||
| D | 45,564 | 35,399 | 80,979 | ||
| R | 37,861 | 44,603 | 82,528 | ||
| R | 30,782 | 46,139 | 76,960 | ||
| R | 35,472 | 42,699 | 78,224 | ||
| R | 31,239 | 36,613 | 68,241 | ||
| R | 30,601 | 35,884 | 66,671 | ||
| R | 34,837 | 38,995 | 74,086 | ||
| D | 35,433 | 32,629 | 69,947 | ||
| D | 36,198 | 29,183 | 66,466 | ||
| R | 22,768 | 35,200 | 58,296 | ||
| R | 14,594 | 26,374 | 50,663 | ||
| R | 12,864 | 24,702 | 41,592 | ||
| R | 20,647 | 23,593 | 45,983 | ||
| D | 9,936 | 4,614 | 23,072 | ||
| R | 11,099 | 12,022 | 24,446 | ||
| R | 9,077 | 12,343 | 23,353 | ||
| D | 11,577 | 11,401 | 23,463 | ||
| R | 10,600 | 10,640 | 21,642 | ||
| D | 9,413 | 7,287 | 17,908 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
21.1%
English
12.7%
Irish
12.3%
American
5.0%
Italian
4.5%
Polish
2.0%
Scottish
1.9%
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: 41.1 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
$75,755
Springfield, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Springfield, IL$75,755
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.4%
Working age (18–64)12.2%
Seniors (65+)7.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.4%
speak English only
Spanish1.7%
Other Indo-European1.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Springfield's workforce skews heavily toward public-sector jobs tied to state government, insulating it from some private-sector swings while making its fiscal health unusually sensitive to Springfield's own budget cycles.
The Democratic margin in Springfield, IL peaked at twenty-three points in 1912. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $75,755 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.
Springfield, IL, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/44100/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Springfield, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Springfield, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 7.2 points (R+7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 105,602 votes cast, 47,908 went Democratic and 55,478 went Republican.
What is Springfield, IL, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Springfield, 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 7 times, Republican 27 times, and other 0 times.
When did Springfield, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Springfield, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Springfield, IL, Illinois?
Springfield, IL, Illinois has a population of 207,042 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Springfield, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Springfield, IL, Illinois is $75,755 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Springfield, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Springfield, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.