Chicago, Illinois: Urban anchor market. In 2024, voted D+23%. Republican peak: R+51 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+23MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Urban anchorAkashic typology
- Population
- 9,698,8612024 5-year
- Median household income
- $91,2212024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 53.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 15.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 23.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Chicago, 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 | 2,518,309 | 1,554,365 | 4,166,084 | ||
| D | 2,905,962 | 1,515,280 | 4,512,162 | ||
| D | 2,594,942 | 1,276,280 | 4,125,968 | ||
| D | 2,433,049 | 1,342,668 | 3,838,274 | ||
| D | 2,702,602 | 1,286,531 | 4,033,864 | ||
| D | 2,250,932 | 1,496,928 | 3,774,113 | ||
| D | 1,974,624 | 1,296,366 | 3,362,265 | ||
| D | 1,738,817 | 1,026,920 | 3,013,727 | ||
| D | 1,786,875 | 1,195,536 | 3,569,951 | ||
| R | 1,599,769 | 1,614,750 | 3,239,205 | ||
| R | 1,540,853 | 1,852,495 | 3,413,126 | ||
| R | 1,508,456 | 1,552,674 | 3,355,132 | ||
| R | 1,636,328 | 1,642,059 | 3,340,951 | ||
| R | 1,408,145 | 1,938,319 | 3,363,730 | ||
| D | 1,520,552 | 1,477,484 | 3,297,448 | ||
| D | 2,021,938 | 1,333,012 | 3,356,109 | ||
| D | 1,780,922 | 1,554,116 | 3,343,727 | ||
| R | 1,232,627 | 1,803,275 | 3,043,270 | ||
| R | 1,447,098 | 1,625,175 | 3,080,999 | ||
| D | 1,448,054 | 1,329,346 | 2,799,211 | ||
| D | 1,517,838 | 1,233,573 | 2,761,835 | ||
| D | 1,426,233 | 1,250,763 | 2,687,813 | ||
| D | 1,512,438 | 937,349 | 2,520,799 | ||
| D | 1,145,428 | 918,776 | 2,130,651 | ||
| R | 869,053 | 1,075,422 | 1,959,213 | ||
| R | 272,095 | 895,180 | 1,416,626 | ||
| R | 243,371 | 826,877 | 1,144,115 | ||
| R | 461,447 | 585,403 | 1,089,568 | ||
| O | 172,829 | 109,529 | 572,411 | ||
| R | 198,478 | 319,797 | 557,416 | ||
| R | 134,875 | 317,746 | 520,992 | ||
| R | 233,100 | 286,185 | 533,707 | ||
| R | 197,123 | 301,389 | 506,554 | ||
| D | 191,505 | 164,987 | 367,591 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
13.0%
Irish
10.2%
Polish
7.8%
Italian
6.0%
English
5.0%
American
2.5%
French
1.1%
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: 38.7 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
$91,221
Chicago ranks near the middle of US counties.
Chicago$91,221
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.0%
Working age (18–64)10.1%
Seniors (65+)11.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
70.2%
speak English only
Spanish17.7%
Other Indo-European7.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.6%
Other languages1.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Chicago's designated market area delivers the state's largest television audience and anchors Illinois Democrats' statewide math, with Cook County alone casting roughly 40% of the state's total votes in most election cycles.
The Democratic margin in Chicago has been steady. It reached its modern peak at thirty-five points in 2008; the 2024 margin was twenty-three points, still in line with the market's long pattern.
Its political identity is inseparable from its demographic profile: a 54% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $91,221, and the full diversity of a major metropolitan center.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Chicago, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/602/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Chicago, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Chicago, Illinois voted Democratic by 23.1 points (D+23), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 4,166,084 votes cast, 2,518,309 went Democratic and 1,554,365 went Republican.
What is Chicago, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Chicago, Illinois as a "Urban anchor" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Chicago, Illinois last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Chicago, Illinois voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Chicago, Illinois?
Chicago, Illinois has a population of 9,698,861 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Chicago, Illinois?
Median household income in Chicago, Illinois is $91,221 — above the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Chicago, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Chicago, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Urban anchor" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.